End of Innocence
by Dixxy Mouri
Summary: Cye learns a hard lesson about life, love, and responsibility after something horrible happens to him and changes his life forever. But what if some bad experiences just aren't worth changing? Rating for an off-screen rape. R&R! Complete!
1. Prolgue

Before the Last Night of Innocence

By Dixxy with help from Pathfinder

Part One: Sage

It was one of the first days of school, and all seemed normal the day that would start the cycle that would turn our lives upside-down. In fact, it was lunch. I sat down with my chef salad and began to dig in. hey, I had to watch my boyish figure! Especially with all the new girls in school that had moved to Toyama during the summer. There was this one magenta haired girl that was-

I'm getting side-tracked. 

Kento sat behind his "mountain" of food. Three sandwiches, a cup cake, and a 100 Grand candy bar. "Well, Ryo, Rowen, and Cye are all late." I shrugged. Rowen was probably talking with a teacher about some extra-extra-extra-EXTRA credit assignment, Ryo was probably talking with the coach, but where was Cye?

The British teen in question waltzed over to the table. I looked at him questioningly. Cye looked, I don't know, dazed, confused, and a little, awkward. "Cye?" I asked. "You okay?"

"I don't know. There was this, girl," he said, propping his chin on his hand. "A sophomore asked me to meet her after school."

"A SOPHOMORE!?" asked Kento. "Dude, you go!?"

"Kento, hold a sec, what's she like?" I asked. "And wait a second, why would a sophomore- no offense- go after a junior?"

"Well, I helped her get her locker open, and she said I was nice, so she asked if we could meet outside at the bleachers," said Cye, taking out his lunch which consisted of a light pasta salad and half an egg-salad sandwich. 

"Is she hot? What's her name?" asked Kento.

"Shelia McConner, she's from Ireland-"

"THE HOT TICKET FROM IRELAND EVERY GUY IN THE SCHOOL HAS BEEN AFTER SINCE DAY ONE!?" Kento, myself, and two guys at a table nearby said in perfect unison. I forget the names of the other guys. It doesn't matter. 

Sheila McConner was the undisputed HOTTEST girl in school. She was an Irish redheaded exchange student with a nice front and a small waist. She had these green eyes that shimmered even in a dim hallway (Our school has the world's worst mechanic working for them- power outages and fuses are very common, which is why the computers run on their own generator). What any guy would give to JUST go out on a measly date with her, and Cye of all people was meeting her outside of school for just helping her with a rusty locker? This was going to be interesting.

"Well, all I got to say is go for it, man!" said Kento. "Get her while you can, because she'll get picked up hotter than a stack of yen on the ground during New Years."

Cye blushed. "I don't know, I think she just wants to thank me or something, I don't think-"

"Just try!" I said. Deep down, I hated myself for saying that. I wanted her, too! But, then again, I had the other 99.9% of the female population at my whim, so it didn't bother me at the time.

At the time. . .

Part Two: Rowen

It was sometime near noon. I was just getting up that fine Saturday morning. Typical for me. VERY typical. So, I took a shower, dressed, made my bed, and went downstairs. By the smell of the mustard, mayonnaise, and pickles, I had a feeling Ryo was making lunch, or in my case, breakfast.

Question was, why wasn't Cye making lunch/breakfast?

"Hey, Rowen, did Cye mention staying out late last night?" asked Ryo. 

"No, he said he'd come back from Sheila's around ten or so- he still isn't home yet?" I was a little concerned. A few days after school started, Cye started going out with Sheila McConner. Every guy in school was a little envious of him, to say the least. It had been about three months since their so called relationship started. Just a little after Halloween. The only thing I didn't understand was that Sheila was definitely the "dominant" one in the relationship. She bought him the candy and flowers and gave them away if he tried it. What was WITH that girl? 

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.

"I GOT IT!" Ryo, myself, Kento, Sage, and Yuli all yelled at the same time. We all darted for the door, but since I'm the fastest, I got the door first. 

Standing outside was Sheila and Cye. Sheila looked strangely happy while Cye was looking a little, unsettled. "Cye?" I asked.

"Hi Rowen!" said Sheila cheerfully. "Cye and I were watching the movie last night, it ran a little late, and we fell asleep on the couch, sorry if you were worried."

"You should have called," I said.

"The movie ran REAL late," said Sheila. "It was _Titanic_, we didn't start it until around nine thirty."

"Why would you start Titanic at nine-thirty?" I asked. 

"Because. . . I don't know, seemed like a good idea at the time!" said Sheila. Something wasn't right. Cye looked awful and Sheila seemed to be hiding something. 

"Okay," I said. "Cye, come on in." Cye slowly nodded, but before he was inside Sheila grabbed him, dipped him, and kissed him. Cye looked a little more than uncomfortable, falling to the ground when she let go. She harshly grabbed his arm and jerked him back up on the ground, dusting his jeans off. Sheila smirked as she waved good bye and strutted down the driveway, swinging her hips. 

"Cye, is something wrong?" I asked. 

"Ow." I looked over my shoulder before Cye could reply. Sage, Ryo, and Kento were a tangled mess on the floor. Yuli had wisely stayed out of the pile. I laughed and shook my head. 

Cye wasn't laughing.

That was weird. Cye always laughed whenever something like that came up. Especially when it involved a great crash like that. "Cye are you-" before he could answer me, Cye was already going upstairs. "Don't you want a bite to eat?"  
"N, not hungry," he said. I heard the click of his bedroom door, then silence. The house was silent. We all exchanged looks. What was wrong with Cye?

Part Three: Ryo

It was nearly a year since Sheila and Cye came home. We never did find out what was eating our young British friend. He came around in about a month, right after Sheila mysteriously left school on a sudden transfer. It was weird, and all the guys were bummed, but Cye seemed almost happy to see her go. A surprise to everyone, even me, Ryo Sanada, star of the school soccer team.

That one month Cye was acting weird though was not a normal month. Cye wouldn't come out of his room the whole weekend and ended up being sick the following Monday from lack of nutrients. He wasn't eating. When he did come back, Sheila would not leave him alone if they passed each other. She'd pull him close to her, kiss him roughly, and then let him go. Maybe that was why he relieved she left. Cye never did like a lot of attention. 

It was hot that evening. The others were all inside, minus Yuli, White Blaze, and myself. We were playing with the sprinkler/hose/water balloons/anything else wet we could play with. In fact, we were having a blast. Water everywhere! I was wondering why Cye hadn't joined us yet.

Speaking of which, I saw Cye come out of the house with his jacket on. "What are you doing with that?" I asked. 

"It's going to get cold tonight, and I'm going out for a walk, I'll see you when I get back, all right?" said Cye. 

"Okay, whatever," I said. "Just be back before ten."

"Yeah, I will," said Cye, laughing as he walked backwards down the driveway. Once he reached the end, he turned on his heels and began to walk normally. Suddenly, I didn't want him to go. I just, stared at him, liked I'd never see him again. 

"Ryo?" asked Yuli. "Is something wrong?"  
"I'm not sure, I just, I just got this feeling," I said. I shook my head. A feeling. That's all it was. Cye could take care of himself. He was just as much of an experienced fighter as the rest of us. He could handle almost anything thrown at him.

Almost. 

"Why are you worried about Cye? He's been back to normal for," Yuli counted on his fingers as his eyes looked upward, like he was thinking, "eight months. I don't think his little 'stage' is coming back. That's what Mia called it. A stage."

"I dunno Yuli, something just doesn't seem right about tonight. I just got this feeling something will happen. Aw, what am I saying? Cye'll come back, get a good laugh about the whole thing, and we'll all just forget about the bad feeling."

Rowen came outside. "Ryo, is it just me, or do you have a weird feeling something's gonna happen tonight too? Revolving around Cye?"

"You too!?" I said. "Look, it's probably nothing. Cye just went for a quick walk. He can take care of himself. We shouldn't be worried. Yeah, he's the youngest in our little 'mutant Boy Scout troop', but he can take care of himself. He's not a baby." Mutant Boy Scout Troop is our little code name/joking name for Ronin Warriors. Nothing big.

Little did we know, but that night, something would happen. Cye was changed. We would all change.

All we knew at the time was that Cye didn't come back that night. Or the next night. Cye had vanished into thin air.

Part Four: Kento

A week. A long, struggling week without my best buddy in the whole world. Why'd Cye have to run away? Was it the armors? Cye really wasn't very enthusiastic about saving the world at first. He was scared. I was, too, but, I was more prepared for a fight than he was. Well, what could it be? School? Nah. Toyama? Nah, he liked it better than Shinzuki, my hometown.

Was it ME?!

I got home before the others did. Ryo was at soccer tryouts, Yuli and Mia were at the mall, Sage and Rowen were at the library. They would all be late.

As I closed the door, my ears caught the answering machine clicking off. I went into the living room, waited a few seconds (a fetish of mine, I dunno, I have to wait a few second before I hit the answering machine button) and pressed play.

_"Hi, Ryo, this is Coach Hitemhard. Tryouts for varsity will be in the gymnasium, and since you're my star player, you're already on. Anyways, just wanted to remind you about that. Have a nice day, and go get 'em, sport! Oh, sorry about your friend. Hope he turns up safe."_

"So do I," I mumbled.

_"Hi, Sage, this is Tiffany, just wanted to confirm our date on Friday? Love ya, bye babe!"_

"Hi Sage! This is Katie, just wanted to confirm our date on Saturday, see you doll-face!"

"Hi Sage, this is Christine, just making sure you still love me, and to like, hee-hee, make sure we're still on for Monday, lots of love. I love you Pooky-bear!" 

I started laughing. Sage was going to get in MAJOR trouble one of these days. I listened in to the last message.

_ "Hello? It's me, Cye. I, I'm sorry I left you guys a few nights ago, but, something happened. It's not necessarily bad, and it's not necessarily good, either, but I need to handle this on my own. Besides, I'm a bit embarrassed to even consider returning. Until I can gather up the courage to talk to you guys, I guess, I guess this is good-bye. I really am sorry, I just can't- I don't know, but, things are just so, complicated. I'm afraid to come home. Kento, Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Mia, Yuli, White Blaze, please, please just remember I'll try to come back some day. Today just isn't that day."_

Click. End of messages. Cye had JUST called, and I'd missed him by a matter of seconds. 

My heart stopped as I fell down onto the couch. "Cye. . ." I said, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. I'd missed him. By just a few seconds, I'd missed him. "WHY!?" I screamed. 

"Kento, what's the matter with you?" I heard the door slam as Mia and Yuli came in. 

"Cye called," I said. "Here, listen." I played the messages again. I saw tears streaming down Mia's face when she heard the message. She started crying into my shoulder. 

"It's okay Mia, Cye said he'll come back. He will," I said, although I wasn't very sure myself.

"I know he will. Someday. . ." Yuli said slowly.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One: Dream Girl

It was the first day of my sophomore year at Han A' High started. I was excited about the starting year. I enjoyed school, for the most part. For me, it was even more interesting because I was schooling in a foreign country as an exchange student. I'd been in Japan for a few years, but I still enjoyed the feeling of being, in some ways, on my own and away from my mother and sister. Oh, I missed them both terribly, but it was nice having a little bit more independence. 

Little did I know, but I'd be getting a little more independence than I bargained for. A LOT more than I bargained for.

I had my locker away from my friends, in a different wing. I heard struggling from a few lockers down and looked over to see who was having trouble. What I saw was a beautiful girl with thick red hair wearing a pink sweater, a white shirt, a black skirt, and blue suede clogs. She was struggling to get her locker open. 

"Stupid locker," she said in poor Japanese. Must've been another exchange student. 

"Need a little assistance?" I asked. The girl looked over at me with big, green eyes. 

She nodded. "Thank you, it's jammed," she said. I grasped the handle, jostling it and the locker came loose. "How'd you do that?"

"I've been messing with rusty lockers for a while," I said. "So, where are you from? You're obviously not from around here."

"And neither are you," she noted. "I'm from Dublin, Ireland."

"Newport, England," I said. "My name's Cye Mouri."

The girl shook my hand. "My name's Shelia McConner. Well, that explains why our lockers are so close together. Looks like they stuck the 'M' people in this wing," she said. "How do you spell your name? I've seen that name spelled C-Y, C-Y-E, S-A-I, and S-I."

"C-Y-E," I said. "I don't mind C-Y, that'll happen, it's the last two that drive me nuts." 

Shelia nodded. "So, you starting junior year, too?"

I gulped. She was a junior? "Actually, I'm a sophomore," I said nervously. 

"So, you're a cute sophomore," she said. My cheeks must have turned crimson red. She thought I was cute? "Hey, meet me after school by the bleachers on the football field, okay?" 

"Uh, sure," I said as she walked off, waving to me. 

"Are you telling me that a JUNIOR was flirting with you?" asked Sage Date, one of my closer friends. The five of us sat at a lunch table in the cafeteria, which was loud, noisy, and smelled funny. Basically, it was your typical high school cafeteria. Sage is a tall blonde with hair falling into one eye. The only reason he's blonde is because his mother is an American, so he's sometimes not considered Japanese. He's a notorious flirt (he's been dubbed "Flirt King of Han A' High") and unlike most other flirts, he doesn't take advantage of the women he flirts with. I respect that, I don't believe women should be taken advantage off. 

Also note that I grew up in a household without any other men around.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, I've never really flirted before," I said. 

Rowen Hashiba sighed. "This Shelia McConner, what's she like?" Rowen is the oldest in the group, a junior unlike the rest of us. His parents are divorced, since his mother travels around the world writing for a magazine (National Geographic, I think, it's that or some other nature magazine) while his father is a scientist. Rowen has blue hair with a forelock between his indigo eyes and is a super genius that sleeps like a log and can't cook if his life depended on it. 

Ryo Sanada, our leader, narrowed his eyes. "No offense Cye, but you're WAY younger than she is, why would she be hitting on you?" Ryo, unlike the rest of us, is an orphan (Even though kids back in England called me a "half-orphan" because my father died shortly before I was born) and grew up in the wilderness with his faithful pet, White Blaze. White Blaze happens to be a full-grown Himalayan white tiger, by the way. Ryo doesn't really talk to must about his past, but he's a good guy, I guess. Ryo has shoulder length black hair and tiger like blue eyes. 

Kento Rei Fuang, my best friend since I came to Japan, swallowed a bit from his huge lunch. "I say that if Cye's got a shot with a girl, go for it! Think about it, a JUNIOR is asking you out, go for it!" Kento, like me and Sage, is not Japanese. He and his family emigrated from China after his mother became pregnant with a second child, which is illegal in China. Kento has a hefty appetite (Which makes me the perfect best friend for him since I'm excellent in the kitchen) and a lot of brute strength. He's also got a tendency to run into trouble head on.

I sighed. "I don't know what to do. She wants me to meet her after school, but why?!" I asked. 

"Just. GO!" said Kento. "Cye, dude, just go for it! Hit a home run-"

"Kento!" I said. "You know how I feel about that."

"What's wrong with baseball?" asked Ryo. 

"He didn't mean THAT kind of a home run, Ryo," said Rowen. 

"Oh, THAT home run. Why not?!"

I glared at Ryo. "I am a Christian. Christians believe in practicing abstinence until your wedding night, than you can go wild, until then, no means no," I said. 

Ryo and the guys nodded (Minus Sage, his mother insisted apon raising him and his two sisters Christian so he knew everything I was talking about) and understood. They wouldn't push me to do anything anyways. 

Maybe I should explain a little about myself. My name is obviously Cye Mouri. I'm the youngest in our group, and the smallest, but not by much. I'm from England, and I'm in a program that's keeping me in Japan from age twelve to whenever I graduate college, unless I decided to stay. I had auburn hair, sea green eyes, and somewhat pale skin. I love to cook and swim, and I want to throw up at the sight of seafood. 

The reason for that is because my friends and I are the Ronin Warriors, the first and last line of defense against Talpa's evil Dynasty. Talpa is your basic evil emperor: Big, ugly, evil genius, wants to take over the mortal realm, bothers the heroes, has minions with tapioca for brains and a few with an IQ higher than a peach pit, the usual. What sets him aside from all those comic books villains is that our powers came FROM him. And he wants them back. 

These powers are nine armors. The armors are Wildfire, Halo, Torrent, Hardrock, Strata, Ogre, Cobra, Darkness, and Illusion. The first five belong to my friends and me. The last four belong to the former Dark Warlords, who used to work for Talpa, but he's now dead and the Warlords have seen "the light." My armor happens to be Torrent, giving me a connection with the water. And for that matter, sea life, so I get upset when I see my fishy friends served up on a seafood platter. 

Of course, no one even knows that there was a threat. No one remembers anything except for us and two civilians, Mia Koji and Yuli Yamato. Mia is the granddaughter of a professor at the University of Toyama. Sehkment, Warlord of Venom (Cobra), killed him. She inherited his estate and was letting us live in her mansion. Yuli is a kid that was orphaned after his parents never reappeared after Talpa captured them. They're either dead or have amnesia and are wandering around somewhere. Either way, both of them were used as hostages by the Warlords and helped us out a lot during the battles. 

But Talpa was gone. I expected to have a nice, relaxing rest of my life. Little did I know but I was about to endure in something that would blow my mind, and eventually, Talpa would return, three more armors would appear, and it would be up to me to be the leader for once. 


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Madly in Love

I cautiously went over to the bleachers after school to see Shelia sitting on them, waiting for me. She looked over at me, smiled, and waved me over. I sat next to her. "Hi, how's it going?" she asked.

"All right, my friends have some mixed opinions on this meeting," I said. 

"Eh?" she asked in English. Her accent was thick and rich, and it made my heart flutter. (Gee, how girlie can one guy get?)

"I tell my friends almost everything, naturally I'm going to tell them if a beautiful girl asks me to met her after school," I replied, also in English. Shelia laughed and smiled. 

She batted her eyelashes at me, a smile on her lips. "I was wondering, maybe this Saturday, if you'd like to do dinner and a movie with me?" she asked. 

My eyes widened. "Are you asking me out? As in going on a date? With me of all people in this school? But I've got to be at least a year younger than you are! We hardly know each other!" I exclaimed, a bit surprised that she'd offered that to me. I'd never been on a date before. 

"So, you'll be easier to train," she said with a laugh. "So, do you except?"

I nodded. "Uh, no- I mean yes! Yes, yes, I'll go, I'll go!"

"Don't hyperventilate on me, cutie-pie," she said, taking my hands. Shelia smiled, kissing my forehead softly. She stood up. "See ya Saturday." 

The next thing I knew, Shelia and I were "an item." One thing I didn't expect was that every single guy in school was asking me how I managed to get hooked up with "an older woman." I understood their questions. Why wasn't she going after one of the other juniors or a senior? Why a sophomore? And at that, the second youngest sophomore in the class, the youngest being a ten year old child prodigy that can hold numbers in the high millions on his fingers, but that's beside the point. If she was looking for a sophomore, she should've gone for Sage. 

Another thing my classmates found odd, and that my friends thought was odd, was the way our relationship was working. Typically it's the male that's the dominant one. However, Shelia basically had me on a leash. She was the one that pulled out my chair and got mad if I tried anything like that, she'd buy me flowers, candy, and all that other stuff and requested I didn't do that for her. I tried to do that once with candy, but she gave it to one of her friends. It hurt my feelings, but she told me that she really didn't WANT candy, she said that she wanted me for me.

Or was she looking for something else?

I felt weak in the relationship, and my friends were a little concerned. Mia told them that nothing was wrong, just that Shelia was probably a little more experienced in relationships than I was and also was the older one in the relationship so she felt a little more responsible. 

Still, it felt weird.

"Cye, why are you letting her treat you like the girl in the relationship?" asked Rowen one afternoon. "I'm not being sexist or anything, but isn't it proper etiquette for the GUY to do stuff for the GIRL?" 

I sighed. "I don't knot, it does feel awkward, and it's a bit odd, but in some ways I don't really care." 

"Huh?" asked Sage. 

"What are you saying, Cye? She's putting your manhood to shame here!" said Kento. 

I sighed dreamily. "I don't know, I think I might be in love," I said. 

"Love?" asked Ryo. "I don't know about that one, define love." 

I blushed. "I have strong feelings for her, but not like you guys, or Mia, or Yuli, or my mother and sister, it's a different kind of feeling." 

"You should check these feelings to make sure it's your heart and not your hormones talking," said Rowen. 

I glared daggers at Rowen. "I told you, even if I am, as Kento would put it, 'horny as a horn dog,' I'm remaining a virgin until I'm legally married with a ring on my finger and I've already said 'I do.' What do you take me for, some pervert?"

"Perverts and horn-dogs and two totally different species," said Ryo. "Perverts just like to see stuff and steal underwear. Horn-dogs-"

"I think he gets the message, Ryo," Sage said. 

"I dunno, I think Cye should watch himself," said Rowen. "Now, I understand that all girls aren't the kind who want the guy to shower then with flowers and candy, but getting ticked off at them for doing something like that, well, why?" 

Kento blinked. "Yeah, what's up with that?"

"She didn't get ticked off, she just gave the stuff to one of her friends," I said. 

Rowen sighed. "Still, watch yourself, Cye. She might not be doing anything, maybe that's the way she was raised, but be careful, she might not be looking for you as in you, maybe another aspect of you."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I don't get it." 

"What I mean is that she might be trying to rip you off or something. Have you checked your wallet after you go to dinner?" said Rowen. 

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "She never even lets me take out my wallet, she always pays. She won't even let me pay the tip!"

"You mean your getting a girl that's practically worshipping you, and-" said Kento.

I shook my head. "She doesn't 'worship' me, she's just overprotective! She treats me like a china doll, like if I get tapped lightly I'll crack!" 

"What I was going to say was that she's basically doing nearly everything for you and you're getting this for FREE?" said Kento. 

"She might want to find sometime for pay later on," said Ryo. "Just be careful-"

"I. Am. Perfectly. FINE!" I said. "Nothing is going to happen to me, I'll be all right."

"Yeah, he's right, our little Cye is growing up," said Sage behind some fake tears. I threw a throw pillow at him (Isn't that what they're for?), and Rowen returned it. So hence begins another Great Ronin Pillow Fight. 

That night, I went to bed feeling awkward. Something didn't feel right. I felt a cool breeze blow through the window and got up to close it, only to get another chill to the bone.

The window was closed. 

I looked over at Kento. Sound asleep, for once. Kento's the type who snores, and the silence shook me up. What was happening? I went over to the window and sat on the ledge. I watched the night sky, looking up at the stars. My eyes got heavy as I fell asleep on the windowsill . . .


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Just a Normal Date?

It was the followed Saturday. November 1, to be exact. I'll remember that date forever. Sheila asked me if I'd like to come over to her house to listen to music, chat, and have a nice, light dinner and watch a rental movie. Didn't seem dangerous at the time. 

It was pouring cats and dogs outside. I ran along the sidewalk to avoid as much of the rain as possible. I love the water, but not when I could possibly catch a cold from it. My jacket had a huge stain on it thanks to Kento dropping a pot of coffee on the basket of clean laundry, so I was without a jacket and thoroughly soaked.

Something didn't feel right about that night as I darted across the sidewalk. I felt a gut feeling in my stomach that I was going to have a bad night. I tried to ignore it. I was just going to Sheila's place, no big deal. So why feel awkward now? 

I had brought a small satchel over as well, containing a second movie, some microwave popcorn, and my armor orbe. The jeans I was wearing didn't have any pocket (An inconvenient feature I'd failed to notice when I'd bought them) so I had to bring everything along in the satchel. I didn't think she'd mind: Besides, I was going to start being a little more independent. 

As I got to one of the streets I had to cross, a car came careening down the street and one of the wheels hit a mud puddle. The next thing I knew, I was a lovely chocolate brown in color. "Oh, crap," I said. I whipped the mud from my eyes and shook my head. My satchel was clean, since it was behind me, as for the rest of my ensemble, well, I needed to get washed up. 

I got to Sheila's place and knocked on the door. Shelia opened the door and screamed. "Shelia! It's me, Cye!" I said, holding my hands up. 

Sheila peered at me closely. She was wearing a small, Chinese style dress that ended just a few centimeters below her butt (pink) and had bare feet. "It is you, I'd recognize those sea-green pools I adore so much anywhere!" she said. "What the heck happened to you?"

"I was walking in the rain when a car flew by and splashed me," I said. 

"Well, give me your shoes and you can use our shower, all right?" she said.

"Don't you need to ask the family you're staying with-" I started.

Shelia shook her head. "Left for a weekend getaway, we got the place to ourselves, they'll never know," she said. I gulped and I gave her my now mud caked shoes. "Just put you clothes in a plastic bag and I'll get them in the washer for you, okay?" She got me a plastic bag and I accepted it. 

After I got out of the shower and dried off my hair, I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked out. I shivered. Somehow I felt so, vulnerable, so I wrapped a second towel around my shoulders. Since the place was only one story high (Minus the basement) I saw Sheila walking over to me. "Your clothes are now in the dryer, you can go downstairs and wait for the cycle to finish up."

"How long will it take?" I asked.

"No more than an hour," she said, a small smile playfully placed on her face. Somehow I didn't trust that smile, and since my virtue is "Trust", I was weary. I trusted everyone. "It's not THAT big a deal." 

I gulped. "Well, all right," I said. She grabbed on of my hands (I used the other hand to hold up my towel) and dragged me down to the cellar, which was a very small room with two doors. 

Shelia smiled. "To the right is my room, the left is the laundry room. We'll go to the right for now." She opened the door and we walked in. I had never been in a girl's room before, so I don't really know how to describe it. Had a bed with green sheets in the middle, a desk, a few dressers, a small television and stereo, and a small bookshelf with a library of fiction titles. "Have a seat," said Shelia, who was sitting on her bed. She tapped the empty spot next to her and, and I half-smiled as I cautiously sat down. 

"So we just wait?" I said. 

"Mmm, yeah," said Shelia, looking me over. She carefully dropped the towel from my shoulder and ran a finger down my chest. "Nice build, you working out?"

"Actually, I'm a swimmer," I said.

"Ooo, they're supposed to have GREAT builds," she said.

"Uh, thanks," I said nervously. "Shelia, what are you getting at-"

Shelia pushed me down and began to kiss me. She slipped her tongue into my surprised mouth as my heart began to nervously increase its rate. 

I pushed her off. "Shelia!" I said. "What was THAT all about?!"

Shelia cocked an eyebrow at me, then grinned. "What aren't you getting?"

"Shelia, what are your intentions down here?" I asked.

"To like, have sex, duh," she said giggling. 

I gasped. "How can you say that!?" I said. 

"What? You a virgin or something?"

"Actually, I am, I'm remaining one until I get married, so no thank you, Shelia," I said when I felt her shove me back onto the bed. She held my shoulders down. 

"Do you think I care?" she said. 

"Shelia, what are you doing!?" I demanded as I began to try to free my arms from her grasp. 

"Come on, it'll be FUN," she said. 

I shook my head vigorously. "I'm not ready, Shelia, I don't-" She covered my protest with a kiss. "Shelia, I told you I'm a virgin, I'm not ready, please, let me up."

"Fine. I'll do this the hard way," she said, pinning my hands as a psychotic smile eased itself onto her face. . . 

Hours passed before Shelia was finally asleep. I looked "up" at the rope binding my wrists to one of the bars making the headrest and struggled to free myself. If she woke up, she might try that little "stunt" again. After minutes of frustration, my efforts were fruitless, and I was still tied up. 

After Shelia knocked me down and said that she was going to have "fun" with me, she raped me. I don't want to go into too many details. For three hours all that I knew was the terrible, sick to my stomach feeling as she had her "fun". Tears were almost constantly streaming down my eyes. I begged her to stop. No use. She seemed to take great joy in this, happily doing her thing and clawing at my back with her sharp nails. White-hot pain streaked across my back as she scraped away layers of skin at a time. Those scars are still there today.

I heard Shelia shift as she woke up. "Oh, did I fall asleep on you?" 

Tears flowed down my cheeks as I looked over at her. "No, please, not again, I can't take it!"

"Oh, I think you can!"

An hour later, she untied me and let me get my clothes. On my way over to the door (Which I was half running to), she sneaked up from behind me and wrapped her bare arms around my neck and stomach. I shuddered. "If you tell anyone about tonight, I'll kill you. I don't mean that playfully. I will seriously hunt you down and kill you so that you'll be six feet under. Got it?"

I was so shaky that she took that as a yes and walked casually back to her bed. I went into the laundry room and began to get dressed, only to hear Shelia lock door. "Hey!" I shouted. I slammed my fist into the door. "Let me out! You've had your fun, I won't tell anyone, now let me go!" The tears were welling up again. "Please, how much more do you think it's humanly possible for me to take?"

"Don't even try it, you're just gonna have to spend one night in there, let you think about why no one but us is gonna know about tonight," she said through the door. "I never said you could go home just yet."

"My friends will be curious as to why I was out so late! You're not going to get away with this, let me go!" I said, pounding on the door. Tears were pouring down my face all the while. 

"After you leave tomorrow morning, I'm going to call your friends and tell them that the movie ran longer than we thought. We then fell asleep on the couch. You are to go by that story and if I hear else wise, remember, six feet under," she said. With that I was greeted by the sound of the other door slamming shut. 

"Sheila, how could you?" I sobbed as I dressed in my now dry clothes. I sat on the floor and curled up into a ball, wrapping my arms around my knees as I silently wept. 


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Disturbing Behavior

**__**

That night was restless. I probably spent the whole night crying softly to myself so she wouldn't hear. I felt scared, used, dirty, and I felt like I was going to hurl. But I didn't. I didn't want to show any signs of weakness anymore. But couldn't help it. I was so messed up that night. Nothing can describe what I was going through. The emotions were a scrambled mix of hatred, fear, guilt, and so many other emotions I couldn't possibly name then all, some of them I don't even have names for. 

I considered trying to escape through the small window, but I decided that I either get stuck or she'd hear me, catch me, and do something bad. I nervously wrung my hands as I looked at my watch (Which Shelia had put on a nearby folding table) and saw that the time was about four in the morning. The others would be worried sick. As it was I knew I was going to be disturbed for the next few days at least, would they figure it out? 

I really did have intentions to wait for my wedding night. I wanted to find the right woman, date her for a few years after college, pop the question, and marry her on a gorgeous day, friends and family all around. I would've wanted everything to be perfect. Then I would've at least offered her my virginity that night, or at least sometime during the honeymoon, but I didn't have that to offer anymore. I didn't realize until that night just how much being a virgin meant to me. 

I started thinking that maybe there was something I could've done to stop her from doing what she'd done. No doubt it was an awful thing, but for a second I wondered if I was being selfish. I shook my head. I wasn't being selfish. You only get to loose it once, and after that, you're never a virgin again. I'd lost it in a horrible, petrifying hell. The only thing I could do was wait for morning and hope I'd have the strength to carry on with my life. 

Morning came and Shelia unlocked the door. I had fallen asleep in a pile of towels. She roughly grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to my feet. "Get your stuff," she said ever so coldly. "Now, here's the deal: You act as if nothing happened, at least towards me, got it?" 

"Y, y, yes," I said, the previous night's hell still fresh in my mind. 

Shelia glared at me. "You're still my boyfriend, and we will continue to date unless I say otherwise, got it?"

I nodded, still shaking as I grabbed my satchel. She was dressed already, and once we left the house, she was as cool as a cucumber. "I'll walk you back to your place, just to make sure you don't try anything funny," she said. 

I spent the rest of the day in my room. I told everyone I was reading or taking a nap or, when meals came around, that I wasn't hungry. Well, that was true, I was so sick to my stomach that I knew I didn't need anything to throw up. Kento tried coming in a few times to talk to me, but I told him I was all right, and he said all right, but I knew he or Sage or someone else would be back later. To be honest, I didn't want to talk with anyone. I just needed some time alone, a lot of time alone. 

The next day my behavior was basically the same, although I did go downstairs to eat something. The sick to my stomach feelings were gone, but the used, abused, dirty, and guilty feelings weren't. Guilt was what I was feeling. Why did I feel like it was my fault? I knew from health classes that any form of sexual assault or abuse was never the victim's fault, it was always the assailant's fault, whether it be significant other, spouse, or parents, sometimes even sibling or other relative. 

I really didn't give a crap about the statistics at the time. I just wanted to disappear and never, ever come back again. 

Kento was still convinced something was wrong, and I guess the others were, too, none more than Mia. I tried to act normal, I tried to be myself, but there was always that certain shakiness I had. 

Not to mention I snapped Kento's wrist when he played a typical joke that he's probably done to all of us except for Mia and Yuli dozens of times. While you're unsuspecting of anything, he will sneak up behind you with an ice cube and quickly drop it down your shorts. Unfortunately he chose the wrong time to try that, only a few days afterward. I reacted to the hands behind me, panic-stricken and grabbed his wrist, snapping it. I have never heard Kento scream so loudly. Mia screamed at me, and I tried to stick it out but I didn't speak with anyone the rest of the day except for Kento to apologize, explaining that he'd just startled me. I knew that wasn't true. Well, actually, he HAD startled me, but it was deeper than that. So much more deeply than he and his rock-hard head could ever comprehend.

At school, Sheila was being a bit move "lovey dovey" than she'd ever been with me before. In the hallway if we passed she'd wrap her arm around my waist, pull me close and kiss me softly, then let me go. She talked about me a lot, and I mean a LOT with her friends. A few kids made a few opinions that she was trying to get something out of me. Oh, she had all right. 

On the other hand, I noticed Sheila acting strangely in other ways. About two weeks after it happened, I noticed she had a worried look on her face. One of her friends, Hiroko, saw me looking curiously at her and explained that one of her friends was missing. 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Missing," said Hiroko. Hiroko was also the school ditz as well as being Sheila's friend. "Said she'd come over, never did, no one knows where she is." 

I felt bad for the girl's family, but not so much for Shelia. "Well, I hope she finds her," I said. 

"Oh yeah, but I wonder why she hasn't called the police yet," said Hiroko. 

By the time the American holiday Thanksgiving arrived (Sometime in mid-to-late November) I noticed Shelia wasn't at school anymore. When I heard that she'd been transferred, I secretly jumped for joy. She was gone! She was gone! I'd never have to worry about her again! I could tell-

I rethought that, If I told, then someone would call the cops. They'd hunt her down. Shelia might catch on, might escape, and might try to kill me. Maybe I am a Ronin Warrior, but how would I know when to transform to escape a bullet wound? 

By the time she vanished, I was pretty much back to normal, and I overheard the guys saying that they assumed my strange behavior as being a stage I was going through, it wasn't anything they should worry about. I knew that in reality if they knew they'd go ballistic, but it was better that they didn't. This was my situation (At the time it wasn't as much of a problem anymore) and they didn't need to worry about me. Or, so I thought. 

Little did I know but that one night would come back with a vengeance.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Good God!

The rest of the school year flew by and I had managed to put everything behind me. The rape, Shelia, being locked in the laundry room, they were all in the back of my mind. The guys threw me a great sweet sixteen party. I finished sophomore year in the top thirty (Rowen was number one, Ryo and Sage were somewhere in between 150 and 200, and Kento was, well, less said the better- I'm talking about placement of GPAs) which I was very proud of. I had a great start to my summer vacation. Nothing but beach, sunlight, and surf for the first few weeks of our holiday. 

I was in heaven.

The night that my life turned upside-down was a calm, peaceful one. It was July 31, around six of clock when I decided to go out on that fateful walk. The evening started out normal enough. Sage was in the basement probably working out. He was up for his fifth degree black belt in kenpo, American Polynesian karate that his mother had gotten him into. He's actually pretty good at it. Rowen was up in his room reading. No surprise there. That's what he spent a good percentage of his free-time doing, but he does take some time to make contact with the outside world. Ryo and Yuli were out back playing in the sprinkler while they still had SOME sunlight to play in. It was just past dusk so the sky was crisp peach color. Kento and I were watching the tail end of the Japanese dub of the American movie The Sixth Sense. (Author's Note: At this time I have not seen the Sixth Sense but boy do I want to, that movie looks like it kicks major ass!) 

I was looking out the window and got the urge to go on a nice, quiet, peaceful walk. "Whatcha looking at?" asked Kento. 

"Huh?" I asked. "Oh, nothing, just looks like it's nice weather out there."

"Ryo and Yuli are running around half naked through a sprinkler, yeah I think the weather's the nice," said Kento. 

I stood up. "I'm going out for a walk, just gotta grab my keys, wallet, and armor orbe," I said. 

"Armor orbe?" asked Kento.

"Never know when you're going to need it. Remember Sarenbo?" 

"Point taken, but that guy beat up Sage and Rowen, well, sorta, you think that can take-"

"Kento!" I said with a laugh. I went up into our room and got the urge to check my wallet for cash, in case I decided to pick something up at the store on my way home (We were short on milk). I had about two thousand yen (Author's note: One yen is about $0.01) in there, way more than enough to buy a couple of gallons. After stuffing that in my back pocket and my armor orbe and house key in another, I went back downstairs.

"Take care of yourself," said Kento from his position on the couch. He was now watching, oddly enough, another American movie called Gremlins. "What? Gizmo's cute."

I rolled my eyes. "All right, just don't eat anything after midnight," I said. Kento didn't get the joke as I walked out the front door. 

"Hey Cye, where're you going?" I turned to see a soaked Ryo and Yuli heading back inside.

"Just for a walk, I'll probably pick up some milk on the way home," I said. 

"Gotcha," said Ryo. "See you around."

I smiled. "See you, Ryo." As I walked down the driveway to the main road, I didn't realize that I wouldn't be seeing Ryo or any of the others around for a long, long while. 

I was out for about and hour enjoying the night scenery. The weather was perfect, the night sky was cool, and the stars were beautiful that night. Somehow while looking up the stars I must've wandered in an unusual direction, since I ended up halfway across Toyama. I looked around oddly. Exactly where in Toyama was I?

"PLEASE! DON'T HIT ME AGAIN!" 

My eye's widened as I heard the child's scream echoing through the night. I looekd to the source to see I was right in front of the orphanage. Madame Himishi was supposed to be a cruel and abusive caretaker to most, definite to the orphans. Including Ryo. He told us some horrific stories from the insides of those walls. According to him, she came very close to killing some of the children on a few occasions and told the police and the hospital it had been an accident. The cops had been trying to can her for the past few years, but they never had anything solid. Whenever they did, it wasn't solid enough or didn't have anything to back it up. 

I wanted desperately to help the poor kid. Whatever he'd done was probably nothing more than cough while Madame Himishi was trying to speak. Ryo was trying hard to get something on her and was working on missions to get the kids adopted in mass numbers to hopefully get her away from the kids and into the hands of the authorities, but it was only a dream that night. I sincerely hoped that Ryo would accomplish that someday, and deep down inside I knew he would. 

I heard the sound of heavy breathing across the street. I turned around to see a figure in a pink jacket carrying a backpack with a wild mane of messy red hair. The person looked up at me and I froze. 

Shelia was back. 

Shelia walked over to me, but I noticed something wasn't right about her, for her, anyways. Her hair was a mess, her face was flushed, looked like she'd put on a few pounds, and it seemed like she'd just run a marathon. The pink jacket was buttoned up and she wore loose fitting sweatpants under that. There was a lump that I assumed at the time was some sort of package she was going to deliver to someone. "Hello, Cye," she said coldly. 

"Um, I, hello," I said nervously. 

"I'm not going to **** you or kill you, I've got more important things to do," she said. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked. 

Shelia looked at me, then at the orphanage, then at the lump in her jacket, then back at me, and then at the lump again. "I know something you don't know," she said. 

"Shelia, I'm not in the mood for games, at least not with you," I said bitterly. I did not want to have anything to do with that witch ever again, after what she did to me I had every right to feel that way. 

She shook her head. "Trust me, you'll be interested in this," she said. 

"How interested?" I asked. 

"Open up my jacket and take a look for yourself," she said. 

"If it's you chest-"

"Just do it!" she ordered. Knowing that it was probably important, I slowly unbuttoned the jacket and opened it. She held a bundle of pink blanket in her arms. I moved back a few blankets and held back a gasp. 

A baby girl. No more than a few days old. 

"Cye, do you know why I left Toyama?" she asked me. 

"No, I don't," I said. "But I think I have an idea."

"Cye, congratulations. You got me pregnant."


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Decision of a Lifetime

Oh God. Oh good lord. How, how, how? Okay, obviously while Shelia was raping me she got pregnant, but WHY ME!? I tried very hard to not panic. I kept telling myself mentally to calm down while Shelia and the baby- no, her baby, no, our baby, no, MY baby- stood there, waiting for a reaction. 

"Oh God, I'm a father?' I said. Shelia nodded. She looked extremely ticked off. "Hey, you were he one that raped me-"

"No kidding! My pill failed, okay?" she said. 

"Why are you back here in Toyama now?" I asked. "Did you want to find me and tell me about this?!" 

"No, not really," said Shelia. "Once I realized my monthly friend was late, I had a feeling that your best swimmer got a home run." Monthly friend? Oh, so that's what Hiroko meant by Sheila's friend was "missing". Hmm, Hiroko really was a ditz, she assumed that Sheila's "friend" was an actual person. 

I took in a deep breath. "So why are you here again?"

"The brat's going in the orphanage," said Shelia. 

My mouth must've dropped to the floor. She was going to do WHAT!? "You're going to put our baby in THAT dump?" I said. 

"Yes, you have a problem with that?" said Shelia. "I don't care what happens to her, and sure as heck the lady doesn't care much more, so-"

"Well maybe I give a care about her!" I said.

Shelia looked at me for a few seconds and started to laugh. "Yeah right, Cye, you think you could take care of her?"

"Yes I do," I said. Shelia was silenced. So was I. What had I just said?!

"Really, you're willing to take on this responsibility?" asked Shelia. 

I nodded. "Maybe she wasn't conceived in the most pleasant manner for one of us, but she's still our flesh and blood, still a human being. No one, and certainly not a newborn, deserves that," I said, jerking my thumb at the orphanage. 

"So what you're saying is that you're willing to give up your freedom to tend to the spore?" said Shelia. 

My eyes narrowed. "How can you call her a spore?!" 

"Hey, I didn't see you skip town because you had a huge beach ball stomach," said Shelia. "Don't think this is my fault, the pill failed."

"Shelia, if you'd respected my wishes-" Before I could finish Shelia slapped me across the face, startling me so I fell into a trashcan. She stared down at me as I stood up. 

Her eyes were dead serious. "So, are you going to take her back to your friends? How do you plan on explaining how you got the child without telling me off?" she said. 

I thought about that. I could always explain that I'd found her on the street, but I didn't have the heart to tell such a serious lie, especially about my own child, no matter what the situation. "May I hold her?" I asked. 

"Why not? I'm not the one stuck with her after this," said Shelia, handing her over. I accepted the baby, and was instantly filled with wonderment. This tiny baby was mine? I'd given her life? I lightly touched her face, feeling the soft, smooth skin on my bare fingertips. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I, I can't give her to you, you'll just send her off to the orphanage," I said. 

"Yeah, so?" 

"You know the rumors, you know they're true," I said. "I can't go back, because if I tell the others, they'll place my odd behavior, the baby, and you together and figure out what happened that night, and this time you might not kill me, but you might kill the baby."

"Why didn't I think of that?" asked Shelia. "I should have-"

I backed away from Shelia, holding the child closer to me than I had before. "I don't think so," I said. 

"So, where you gonna go?" asked Shelia teasingly. "You could always skip town."

Skip town. I could always go to Tokyo. I'd probably get a chance to start over there, and it was such a big city, there must be dozens of kids in my situation, so I wouldn't be such an outcast. "I'll go to Tokyo."

"You're nuts," said Shelia. "But, well, that's one way to get rid of her. Okay, let me get her birth certificate, you need to sign it being you're her father, and then you fill in the name, and I don't have to ever see either of you ever again." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a manila folder. 

"You're just leaving?" I said. "You mean you're not going to even call or write to see how she's doing?" 

Shelia snorted. "Heck no! Good bye, DADDY," she said mockingly as she waltzed down the street. I watched her until she disappeared over the horizon. I heard the sounds of someone coming down the stairs and to the front door of the orphanage. I had to get out of there before Madame Himishi found us. I turned a corner and just barley missed her. I let out a sigh of relief and looked down at my daughter.

"Well, now what?" I asked. No answer. Fast asleep. Looked comfortable. "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. Come on, let's get out of here." 

No more than a half-hour later I was on a bus headed for Tokyo. The bus was nearly deserted with only a few other people on. I was in the back, trying to avoid as much contact as possible. The bus stopped and a few people got on. A woman in her late twenties with a baby and a diaper bag started towards the back. "Oh crap, I'm gonna get one mother of a lecture-"

"Hi there!" the woman said in a friendly voice as she sat next to us. "That your baby sister?"

I looked down at my feet. "No," I said. The next phrase was a bit unsettling. I wasn't used to it. "She's my daughter."

"Oh, how old are you young man?"

"Sixteen," I said. "How'd you know she was a girl?"

"Pink blankets, but how'd you get the kid? Most teenage boys I know that conceive with their girlfriends usually leave them and-"

"Reversed roles this time, sort of. If I got pregnant I would've already been all over the newspapers," I said, "but, she left me and the baby, and her mom isn't exactly in the right mind, either."

"What do you mean?"

"She either wants to put her in an orphanage or dispose of her permanently," I said. 

"Oh good lord, no offense, but you have terrible taste in women," said the woman. 

I half laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can say that, ma'am."

The woman looked her over. "How old is she?" 

"I don't know," I said. "I think her birth certificate is in the folder. I just found out that my girlfriend even got pregnant in the first place just an hour ago, she skipped town before she started to show." The woman picked up the folder and started flipping through the documentation.

"July 18, that's my mother's birthday," said the woman thoughtfully. She looked at the baby. "You have anything to feed her with?"

"No," I said. The woman reached into her diaper bag and pulled out a bottle. "Feed her this when she wakes up, which will probably be soon, I'll show you how feed her-"

"WAH!" I looked down at my daughter to see that she'd started to wail.

"I think she's up," I said. The woman showed me how to hold my daughter and the bottle, and soon she was peacefully drinking the milk. 

"She's a beautiful baby," said the woman.

"Thank you, uh, what's your name?" I asked. 

"My name is Ami Yukuo, and this is my son Yoshio," she said. She looked up at me, smiling. "You look like you're going to make a great father."

"For her sake I hope so," I said. 


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Friend in Need is a Friend in Deed

I spent a good amount of the night on the bus. We arrived in Tokyo near daybreak. The bus driver dropped me off "about a block and a half away from a teen-crisis center."

"What's a teen crisis center?" I asked. 

"It's like a homeless shelter, only a hell of a lot more cleaner and handles suicidal kids, runaways, kids that got kicked out of their homes, kids looking to get tested for STDs and pregnancies, and for teen parents-to-be and teen parents," said the driver. "Tell them Rick sent you, okay kid?"

'Thank you, Yoshi," I said. 

Rick was right, the Teen-Crisis Center was a lot neater than a homeless shelter. Things were well kept, the teens weren't dressed as hobos, and it was a welcoming atmosphere. I felt safe here. I slowly walked over to receptionist, who smiled at me, and then her eyes got big when she saw my baby. 

"Um, hello, I see a lot of couples and a lot of mothers come in, but not a lot of single fathers," she said. 

"I know, look, can I please get some place to get some sleep?" I asked. 

"Hmm, we have one room with a crib open, but be warned, there's another boy in there, okay?" said the woman. 

"Oh dear," I said. That might not be good. What was my new "roommate" going to be like? Of course I really didn't have a choice. "All right, that'll have to do." The receptionist pointed me in the direction of the room and I cautiously walked down towards it. I opened the door to find the room empty, but sure enough there was a small crib next to one of the unoccupied beds. I carefully laid my daughter down and looked around. There wasn't that much there. Just the two beds and the crib. I heard whistling as the door opened. 

"Oh, hi, you must be my new roomy," said the boy that entered. He was tall, nearly as tall as Sage if not taller. He had long, silky smooth dark green hair tied back in a loose pony, sky blue eyes, a red beret, and forelocks on either side of his face. He wore a purple T-shirt, a red vest, open, and baggy blue cargo shorts with white high tops that were streaked with paints of every color imaginable. He dropped a large duffel bag onto the bed furthest from the crib. "Where's your stuff?" 

"Don't have any," I said. "Just got a wallet, a set of keys I won't be needing anymore, the clothes on my back and what's in the crib." Well, I also had my armor orbe, but he didn't need to know that.

"What's in that thing?"

"My daughter," I said, blushing. 

The kid fell silent. "Oh. Couldn't keep your hormones in check?" he said almost meanly. I could feel a deep, surging anger filling up inside of me. Well, maybe I'd show him that I was a lot better at "keeping my hormones in check" than keeping my TEMPER in check. Oh, I'd fix HIS wagon all right. 

I leapt to my feet. "Actually, you want to know the truth!? You want the truth!? My ex-girlfriend thought that it would be d*** funny if she tied me up and raped me after I told her NO and that I was planning on remaining a virgin until I was married, but that idea was s****ed! Funny, no? She thought it was flat out hysterical to threaten to kill me if I breathed a word about it to anyone! What's even better is that she got pregnant, skipped town, and I just found out about all this yesterday! And it's absolutely down right hilarious that she left the kid with me and I can't go back because of it, isn't that HYSTERICAL!?" I must've looked fit to be tied, and I probably was, but once I let that out, I fell back onto the bed I'd claimed. "I, I'm sorry, I guess I-"

"Just had a little too much internal pressure and I set you off?" said the kid, suddenly sympathetic. He sat next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. 

"Yeah," I said. "It's been a difficult time for me."

"So, exactly what happened?" asked the kid. 

I took in a deep breath. "Well, because of the circumstances one night, I was vulnerable to that kind of, event, and she took advantage of it. Before that night I was PLANNING on keeping my virginity until I got married, but I guess she had other ideas- Why am I telling this to you, I don't even know you!" I said. 

The kid smiled. "Well, my name's Kojiro Tomae. And I know a few guys that got taken advantage of back at my old school, course, they never managed to get their- well, you get the idea," he said, holding out his hand. 

"Cye Mouri," I said, shaking his hand. 

"Look, I know a lot about the psychological side of this kind of thing, so you can talk to me if you need to, and you're probably gonna need help with- What's her name?" asked Kojiro. 

"Um, I don't know, I haven't decided yet, I've been so busy trying to figure out what to do and to get out of Toyama," I said.

Kojiro nodded. "Well, figure out a name now," he said, as I went over and picked her up and sat down next to him. "She's beautiful."

"That's what everyone's been saying," I said. "Except for my ex, she called her such lovely names as 'brat and 'spore', how could she do that to her own child?" 

"Well, since she has no problem restraining guys like you to have a little unwanted fun, I don't see why she wouldn't do something like that," said Kojiro. 

I sighed. "Good point, but what am I going to name her?" 

"Well, just concentrate. Close your eyes and say the first female name that comes of the tip of your tongue, and nine times out of ten that's the right name," said Kojiro. 

What to name here? Susan? Erica? There were so many names, what was the right one?! I thought for about a minute before I found the right name. "Ariel," I said. 

"Ariel? Never heard of it, what nationality is it?" asked Kojiro. "It's beautiful and all, but, where's it from?"

"I'm not sure, I think it's English or maybe American," I said. I looked down at her. "So, Ariel it is." I was about to put her back when I saw her eyes open for the first time. I pulled her back to me and nearly started to cry. I saw two sea green pools staring back at me. Those were my eyes. Dear God, she really WAS mine.

"She's got your eyes," said Kojiro, standing over me. 

"I know," I said. 

"You crying?" 

"I think so."

"Well, put her down gently before you drop her," said Kojiro as he sat me back down. "Okay, you obviously aren't mentally, financially, or emotionally ready for this, are you?"

I shook my head. 

Kojiro cleared his throat. "Well, let me tell you how I got here. My parents are jerks, they never liked me, and they only liked my older brother, thought I was a screw up or something. Come find put I was the result of an affair my mom had with her boss, so I was unwanted. I found out and started asking questions, so the man who I thought was my father kicked me out and told me if I ever showed me face home again he's blow my brains out. See? We both have some pretty severe problems. I say the two of us work together to get jobs, finish high school, and go to college, plus, help you raise the kid," said Kojiro.

"You're willing to help me out?" I asked. "But I hardly know you! You hardly know me!"

"So we'll get to know each other. Friends?" Kojiro held out his hand for me to shake it.

I nervously accepted his hand, then shook it firmly. "Friends."


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: I. Do. Not. Need. THERAPY!

About a week passed. Kojiro and I were becoming great friends, and I was beginning to get to know Ariel a little better, too. I could feel the parental bond forming, and while I was a little scared of it, it made me feel good. Sometimes I'd just hold her to look down at her in wonderment. Even after a week, it still felt weird that I was a father. Ariel also (I think) knew who I was right from the start. I wasn't sure how Shelia treated her the first few days of her life, but the people at the TCC said that she was a healthy baby girl. And a LOUD one. Kojiro wasn't a happy camper about it, so I bought him some ear plugs so he wouldn't have to deal with Ariel's wailing. If she wailed I checked her diaper, and if that wasn't the problem, I just held her and gently rubbed her back until she went back to sleep. Sometimes that took HOURS though, so I lost a lot of sleep. At one point I thought I was putting Rowen to shame.

But that hurt. I was still afraid to go back to the guys, but Kojiro did convince me to call them. I remember the shaky message vividly. I made sure that they wouldn't be home so I could get the answering machine. After hearing the voices of everyone in the house (myself included) say something, I left my message. "Hello? It's me, Cye. I, I'm sorry I left you guys a few nights ago, but, something happened. It's not necessarily bad, and it's not necessarily good, either, but I need to handle this on my own. Besides, I'm a bit embarrassed to even consider returning. Until I can gather up the courage to talk to you guys, I guess, I guess this is good-bye. I really am sorry, I just can't- I don't know, but, things are just so, complicated. I'm afraid to come home. Kento, Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Mia, Yuli, White Blaze, please, please just remember I'll try to come back some day. Today just isn't that day." 

Click.

Kojiro also suggested something that there was no way in hell I was going to do. "Hey, Cye?" he asked one night. He had a sketch pad out and was drawing something.

"Yeah?" I asked after putting Ariel down for the night. She gurgled at me. I cooed back at her, smiling as brightly as I could. I sat down next to the crib, my hand inside of it. I always (gently) rubbed her head before she went to sleep. During one of the courses I'd taken on teen parenting, I learned that one of the most critical things you should do is make sure that the baby gets lots of affection and love, or else they won't be able to show it later and life. That was a habit I had formed since I learned about it.

Kojiro looked thoughtful, popping a bubble from his ever present bubble gum. "You think you might need to see a shrink or something?" 

I gave him an odd look. "Why would I need to see a shrink?"

"Well, the way I see it, you may still have some of that internal pressure, and a shrink could also help you prepare yourself emotionally for parenthood," said Kojiro. "I mean, yeah, the classes are working, but dude, you got RAPED. And one thing I learned in school was that the victim needs immediate medial and psychiatric attention, one of which you didn't get since you were so freaked out." (After rape, I would sneak periodically out to get myself tested for STDs and HIV. The guys never found out)

"Koji," I said, "I don't need any therapy! You can't make me go to therapy!"

The next morning, I awoke to see Kojiro standing over me with rope, a gag, and a blindfold. "KOJIRO! WHAT ARE YOU- MMMPHHH!" I cried, as the struggle began. Man, was he strong for a guy his size! He flipped me onto my back and tied my hands behind my back. 

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" I demanded. 

"You're going to see Dr. Mujara, the TCC's psychologist."

"NO!"

"Yes you are."

"NO I'M NOT!!!!!" I said. "Lemme go!"

"Sorry, no can do, Cye, you need this, trust me," he said. 

I started to kick, slipping out of my binds. I leapt to the other side of my bed and shook my head, my arms crossed. "Nope, huh uh, no way, Koji," I said. 

"Cye? You're going."

After dragging me kicking and screaming down to Dr. Mujara's office, he sat me in a chair and then ran to lock the door. "Doc, you might want the nerve gas for this one! He's gonna bolt!"

I looked over at Dr. Mujara. She was a little old lady with huge glasses in a violet floral dress. Her hair was white and in a bun with two black chopsticks sticking out of it. "Nerve gas? Oh, that won't be necessary."

"Wanna bet?" I snapped. I was in a REAL bad mood. Kojiro had tried to tie me up and was forcing me to see this, this, PSYCHIATRIST! 

Dr. Mujara blinked and grabbed her clipboard. "Make yourself comfy, all right?" she said. 

I plopped down in a very uncomfortable looking wooden chair. Dr. Mujara referred to the shrink's couch (You know the ones that people usually lie down on in the movies?). "Over here?"

I sighed and walked over, sitting down. "All right," I said. "What do you want?"

"Mr. . . Mouri, is it?" said Dr. Mujara. "You're afraid of shrinks, aren't you?"  
"What do you mean, afraid of a stupid shrink?" I said, laughing. "I'm not afraid-"

"You are, the look on your face and your selection of words prove it. Why? Were you ever hypnotized as a kid?" she asked.

I was about to snap back when I realized something. Sae once tried to hypnotize me with a yo-yo and told me she'd make me walk off a cliff. "My sister once threatened to hypnotize me and make me do some dangerous stuff," I said. 

"Let's make a deal; You give me a civil attitude and I wont' hypnotize you, all right?" she said. 

I shifted in my seat. "All right."

"Now, your friend-"

"Traitor."

"I thought you said you were going to act civil."

"He tried to tie me up."

"Oh, well, then, Kojiro told me that you had some internal pressures surrounding your daughter. Care to give me the details? I won't tell anyone about my findings, all right?" said Dr. Mujara. 

I poured out the whole story to here eventually crying on her shoulder. "I was so scared," I said, sniffling. "I, I was just fifteen, I didn't want to-"

"I think I can guess what happened afterwards," she said. 

"No, not quite. She skipped town without even telling me. I met up with her after she had the baby and tried sticking her in an orphanage," I said. "That's why I skipped town. My friends, they're all HUGE on this kind of stuff, they think that teen parents are irresponsible horn dogs. If they ever found out . . ."

"Do you think they're more upset over the baby, or you running away?" she asked. 

"I don't know, Rowen and Ryo are both runaways, they'd be WAY more upset over Ariel," I said. Rowen had run away from his abusive father and Ryo had run away from the orphanage. 

Dr. Mujara nodded. "Well, if you honestly think that they're going to react like that. Maybe they really aren't your friends-"

"No, I'd trust them with my life," I said. _And for that matter I have,_ I thought. "But, they'd definitely put me lower on their list, so to speak. They might try to make me give up Ariel!"

"That, I don't think they would do. Theoretically, if they believe so strongly that teen parents are irresponsible horn dogs, then they'll be pleased that you're trying to take responsibility. Besides, did you not say that you were raped?"

"Shelia threatened my life and Ariel's life-" I started, then my eyes widened. "Oh no!"

"Relax, she won't find out that you've told me what you have, Cye, this is between you, Kojiro, and me" said Dr. Mujara. "Now, take me advice. Go back to sleep and relax, then come back here on your own, then you'll be ready for step two, all right?"

"Step two?" I asked. "Whatever-"

"You've already taken the first step, talking to me."

"So do you think I'm going to be all right?" I asked.

"Positive. And your 'traitor' did the right thing by 'dragging you kicking and screaming' down here. Agreed?" said Dr. Mujara. 

"I'd better go apologize to him," I said, standing up. "Thanks, Doc."

"No sweat."

I went back into our room, and smiled. I saw Kojiro was holding Ariel, making baby faces, talking in "baby" talk, and playing with her. "You are so cute, you know that? Yes you are, yes you are- Cye how long have you been standing there?" I laughed at the look on his face.

"Long enough," I said. "I don't mind you playing with her, I mean you're basically going to be a secondary father figure, or some sort of an uncle, at least."

"But I'm not the mushy type!"

"I know, Kojiro, I know."


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Four Years Later

Four years have passed since Ariel came into my life. I'm now twenty living on my own with Ariel, with Kojiro down the hallway in our apartment building. It's been scary, I'll admit. If I had a yen for every time I thought she'd come down with some deadly disease or was in severe danger, I'd be a very rich person. VERY rich.

Being a parent has changed me. I never knew that the common apartment could be such a danger zone for a small child. My apartment has been completely child proofed, which is virtually unnoticeable. There are special "locks" on the cabinets containing the cleaners and other chemicals, plastic plugs in the electrical sockets, sometimes Kojiro think that I'm over-cautious. I invited him to take care of Ariel for a day and he declined, getting my point. 

Ariel is my carbon copy, only smaller and female. Kojiro used to joke and call her "Mini-Cye" after Mini-Me from the second Austin Powers movie. Ariel has my love for the sea, but she's got a love for art that I never had. My bedroom could have chipped, peeling walls and you wouldn't know it since Ariel's art works wallpaper my room and our refrigerator. Once, her love for art got her to create a mural on the wall. You'd be surprised how much one two year old with paints can do in the time it takes to take one shower, brush your teeth, and dry your hair. I'll admit, the mural was colorful and it didn't look that bad (It was of a beach) but it did not look nice in the hallway. God bless latex house paint. 

Kojiro and I picked up jobs waiting at a local restaurant. I have received some very interesting tips over the past four years: little origami dollar bills, coupons for groceries, a contraceptive, eight phone numbers, and a tiny little teddy bear that you can fit in the palm of your hand. 

I know what you're thinking; did I ever call the numbers or the other thing? Nope, tossed all nine items. Girls at school avoided me because they didn't want the responsibility of Ariel if things ever got serious, and the other boys at school were cruel. Some of the names they called me I dare not repeat. Most were just confused as to why I was raising Ariel and her mother wasn't. Kojiro was the only one that was really friends with me. 

Well, not quite. I was friends with a few of the teenage mothers, and we exchanged stories and advice on raising kids. They were all very nice, and all regretted their poor decisions. But nothing ever came of them romantically. If so, we'd both need to find baby-sitters, people might start to notice us a little more than usual, and quite frankly, I didn't want a lot of attention. I've always been shy (Kento used to call me Shy Cye and use it as a tongue twister) and all the attention I got every morning when I dropped Ariel off at the school's daycare I'd get mocks, insults, and sometimes spit balls thrown at me. Ariel doesn't understand any of it yet. Thank goodness. 

The first two years were the most difficult. High school wasn't easy, but I promised myself I'd graduate high school so I'd have a degree. I graduated tenth in class. Having Ariel not only made studying harder, but it innovated me. My innovation before had just been to graduate to go to college and get a good job, nothing more. Now I had that and I had to get the good job to support my daughter. 

College has been easier. The other students are more understanding of my situation and nicer about it, but the girls still stayed away (There are always other fish in the sea). I'm studying to be a marine biologist and Kojiro's studying computer technology. We're both going to a small community college in the northern end of Tokyo and trying to have fun. A lot of my professors are extremely impressed that I'm able to manage raising Ariel and my classes, plus my job. Still, paying off tuition has been VERY difficult. 

One of the most difficult and heart wrenching things is that I had severed all of my ties to my friends and family. I was embarrassed and ashamed to go back to them. The guys would surely give me a huge lecture, and the fact I ran away wouldn't help. Mia would have my head, plain and simple. 

As for my family, my mother would be so upset with me. Even if it wasn't my fault or idea, I just couldn't face her. She'd be heartbroken that I couldn't defend myself that night. Sae, I didn't know what she'd say. Probably something rude about how I was a horn dog or something. 

Still, I had to do what I had to do. One day I'd have to tell my mother, at least, even if it meant she disowned me.

It all started one morning. I got up, yawned, stretched, went into the bathroom, took a shower, got cleaned up, went back into my room, got dressed, checked on Ariel (Still asleep) and went into the kitchen to start cooking breakfast. Typical morning in our apartment. 

Ariel was up minutes later. "Morning, Daddy," she said in English (Note: Ariel DOES have a British accent). For the most part the two of us conversed in English, but outside of just the two of us we spoke Japanese. It took me forever to get her to speak both languages. But she'll be excellent in foreign languages because of it. Just think, my little girl, the UN ambassador. Okay, okay, maybe that was going a little TOO far.

"Morning, sweetheart," I replied, picking her up. I ran my hands through her hair, and she giggled. "Have a good night's sleep?"

"Uh huh, I'm hungry, what's for breakfast?" she said. 

"Eggs and bacon with scones, jam, and butter," I said. 

"Yummy," she said. I looked over at her and smiled. She was wearing a little pink nightgown, sea green eyes looking back at me. Her hair was a mess in a loose ponytail, and she yawned, opening her mouth wide.

"Nice tonsils," I said, putting her down. Ariel made a face and stomped off. 

"Meanie!" she said. 

"I'm just-"

"I know, you're just teasing, when I'm big like you, I'll have my revenge and I'LL BE THE MEANIE!" she said. 

"You wouldn't do that to your old man, would you?" I said. 

"You're not old and wrinkly, you're young and handsome," she said from around the corner. 

"Thank you for the compliment," I said with a laugh. Young and handsome, was I? Then why wasn't I being hit on by every other woman that walked down the street? I shoved that thought out of my head. I was turning into Sage, and I hadn't even seen the guy in four years!

Ariel went to get dressed, but she stopped short. "Daddy?" she asked. 

"Yes, sweetie?" I asked. 

"I see the other kids at day care. They all have these ladies come to pick them up and they call them mommies. I see mommies on TV a lot, too. Why don't I have a mommy, too?" asked Ariel. 

My heart sank. I still hadn't found the courage to tell her about her mother. Okay, naturally I wasn't going to say that her mother raped me, but I couldn't tell her that her mother left us alone that night. I turned back to breakfast so Ariel wouldn't see the tears. I always told her crying was okay, but I didn't want her to see me crying over this. 

"Daddy?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm all right," I said. "I just need a little time alone, that's all." Ariel shrugged and went back to her room to get dressed. I narrowed my eyes. I could tell that things were only going to get harder know that Ariel was asking questions about her mother. What could I tell her? She was too young to understand why she never met her mother. Why I'm not married to anyone. I knew that the time to start telling her these things was close at hand. Was I ready for it?

More importantly, was Ariel ready for it?


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten: The Dynasty Returns

That night my dreams were disturbed. It started out normal enough . . .

_All I could hear was my own agonizing screaming. All I could feel was pain. It felt like my head was about to explode. The things running through my head were awful. Screw the Dynasty, let me go! I wanted out!_

The pain stopped and I was breathing hard. "Cye, Kento, are you two all right?" asked Sage, even though I could tell he was shaken up. 

I could hear something I never thought I'd ever hear in my entire life. "Kento?" I asked. 

"Wh, wh, what?" he asked between hard breaths. Kento was crying. 

"Kento, it's okay," said Sage. 

"I, I, know," said Kento. "It, it hurt so much, I, I thought I was gonna d, d, die."

"So did I, just calm down. Ryo and Rowen will come for us, don't worry," said Sage. 

"Yeah, they won't leave us hanging- sorry about the bad pun," I said, looking up at the chain that bound me to the gargoyle structure. "They'll get us out of here. I know they will . . ."

That had been one of the many torture sessions Talpa had engaged in while he had Sage, Kento, and me prisoner. Even after five years, I still have nightmares from it. Hard to believe, but it was a very disturbing experience. The next scene that unfolded was even wilder more disturbing. The rape. Only this time is much more aggressive, painful, and longer . . .

"NO! SHELIA, STOP!" I screamed as I fell from my bed. Someone ran into my room and touched my shoulders. "NO! GET AWAY! DON'T-"

"DADDY! What's wrong?" asked Ariel. I stared at her, the worry in her eyes petrifying me. She sat next to me, reaching up to brushed the hair out of my face, which was dripping with cold sweat and tears. "Daddy, what happened?"

I looked at Ariel. "Ariel, I had a really, really bad dream about something that happened to me before you were born. What happened to me was so awful that I can't even tell you what it was. I just hope you never, ever have to go through what I went through," I said. Ariel crawled into my lap and hugged me. I held her back. 

"Daddy, I love you and it's okay to cry," she said. "I don't care that you're crying, I cry all the time and you never tell me it's bad, so it must be okay."

I held her tighter. "I love you too, Ariel."

I held her for another hour or so before I found she'd fallen asleep. I put her in her own bed and went back to my own bed. I was shaking as I went back to sleep, but I did. 

God, I wish I never had gone back to sleep. 

This dream I was in a black void, wearing my armor, only my dagger, yari, and helmet were all missing. I was sort of floating there in the nothingness. "Where am I? What is this dream?" I asked. 

'This is no dream."

"Who said that?" I asked. "What do you mean this isn't a dream?"

"It is I, Anubis." I turned to the source of the voice and saw Anubis in the Ancient's robes, holding the Staff of the Ancient. "I've pulled your subconscious mind here. We've been trying to find you for the past four years. Why did you leave? Why did you abandon your responsibility as a-"

"I didn't run away because I was running away form a- aren't you dead?" I asked. 

"No longer. I was resurrected by Kayura before she was re-brainwashed by Talpa," said Anubis. "She and the Dark Warlords resurrected me the night you left. Shortly after all four were taken back to Talpa, and a man named Osiris now holds my old armor. I confronted your friends, who were a bit disturbed about your disappearance. I've been trying to help them, but Talpa recently came and has taken them all except for Mia, Yuli, and White Blaze."

"What?! I'm the only free Ronin Warrior left?!" I said.

"No, not quite. There are three additional armors to the first nine. Icefire, Flora, and Chrono are the new armors. Ice, Forest, and Time. A woman wears Flora by the name of Shung Lee, but I have not found Icefire of Chrono. It is up to you to find them, now, I ask, why did you leave? Did you run away form your responsibility?"

"I wasn't running away because of my responsibility of being a Ronin Warrior. Maybe I should start from the beginning. I don't know, did the guys mention I had a girlfriend?"

"They mentioned none," said Anubis. 

"Well, she was older than I was and a little, over dominating. One night, she invited me over to the place she was staying, and because I got splashed by a car and was filthy, she let me take a shower. My armor orbe was in my knapsack, so it was a little out of reach."

"What happened?"

"I, I was raped," I said, hanging my head. 

"Raped?" asked Anubis. "What is-"

"You didn't have that in the Dynasty or back in the Ancient days, did you?" I asked. 

Anubis shook his head. "Not in my clan."

"Well, rape is when one person forces another to have sex with them by means of violence or restraint," I said. "I told her up front that I didn't want to have sex with her. I was a virgin and I wanted to wait until I got married, but she didn't care, and I didn't leave that house a virgin anyways," I said. 

"Why does this have to do with your leaving?" asked Anubis. 

"That night Shelia didn't count one thing. She left school a month later leaving me and everyone else confused as hell. The night I left I went on a walk with every intention to come back home. I ran into Shelia."

"She paid the price and got pregnant, didn't she?" said Anubis. 

I nodded shakily. "I, I was afraid to go back to the guys. She had threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone, and maybe I do have an armor, but it doesn't protect the back of my head from a bullet. Guns, you know-"

"Yes, I understand guns," said Anubis. "What happened to the child?"

"Shelia didn't want her. She was going to put her in the orphanage, but the lady that runs the place is cruel. Shelia didn't care, she just wanted to get rid of the kid, so I took her, but since I was panicked, I skipped town. I've spent the last four years struggling with balancing a job, school, and raising Ariel," I said. 

'This Ariel, is she a weak spot of yours?" asked Anubis. 

"What do you mean?"

"The Ancient mentioned a weak spot of yours- get up, now!"

I flew out of bed. Oh God, please don't let something have happened to Ariel. I opened the door to her room.

The window was open, her bed was empty. A breeze blew through. 

Ariel was gone. 


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: Kojiro of the Icefire

I nearly broke down crying then and there. "Ariel! No!" I cried out, falling to my knees. I felt my forehead kanji go off. 

TRUST. 

I looked up with teary eyes. Nothing. Unless Dais was playing one of his many illusions, but I doubted that. I stood up on shaky legs and leaned up against a wall. I saw her stuffed whale doll had lost a fin, and I prayed that I wouldn't find any blood in the room. I looked around and found none. "Lord, don't let her be hurt!" I said, falling down on my hands and knees. I prayed for a good ten minutes before I stood back up, ran a brush through my hair, did a two minute job in the shower (water = power boost- duh) and slipped on a pair of boxers before grabbing my armor orbe. 

"You'd better still work," I said, looking at the armor orbe. "Armor of the Torrent, Tao SHIN!" In a flash of light blue, I found myself in the familiar, metal/plastic/spandex material once again. I looekd at myself. I looked just like I did five years ago, only I was older, wiser, and I saw maturity in my eyes I had never seen before. What had these past four years done to me, anyways? The long, sleepless nights that started from the night of the rape, then the nights from Ariel's first few months. The hardships I faced as a sixteen year old teenage parent. The long, little sleep nights that I spent studying, just so that I could finish high school and give Ariel a better chance in life. The concerns I had as a parent. The worries, the love, everything was so different. They all added that maturity I was seeing. I was changed.

I pulled a hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers on over my subarmor. I hid the hand gauntlets and flexed my arms before checking the clock. 3:58. I looked outside of my bedroom window. Not even close to sunrise. I went into the living room and went outside-

And walked right into Kojiro. 

"Where you going this time of night?" asked Kojiro. He was wearing a white T-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. He yawned, looking at me somewhat sleeping.

"Where are you going?" I asked. 

"To get some ice from down the hallway," said Kojiro. 

"Why?"

"Got the urge for a cold glass of water and the freezer's busted," he replied. "Now, why are you out?"

Oh great, how do I explain this? "I, uh, I need-"

"GRAGH!"

"What the hell is that thing!?" asked Kojiro. That was a surprise. Kojiro NEVER swore so why now? I turned on my heels to see a Dynasty youja guard staring us down. 

"All right, ugly, you want a fight?" I said. It nodded. "Do you know who you're messing with?"

"An idiot and his wonderful, charming, handsome friend, Cye, what the heck are you doing?!" said Kojiro. "That thing's evil!"

"Just let me handle this," I said. I slammed my feet into his chest on a sidekick, sending smoke spewing from the carcass as the armor faded away to nothing. 

Kojiro's jaw probably reached the floor. "How did you do that?! Cye, is there something you haven't told me about your life before we met?"

I nodded. "Let's get outside, it's not safe here," I said.

"What about Ariel?"

I cringed. "That's a very small, recent part of it," I said. 

"So you're saying that you're some mystical warrior that's destined to save the Mortal realm from the Evil Dynasty, your four friends are captured, some dead guy talked to your in your dream, and these Dynasty idiots captured Ariel?" said Kojiro. 

"Basically, yes," I said.

"That is the most explicit piece of crap I have ever heard," said Kojiro. 

"Why don't you believe me?" I asked. "You saw that thing."

"Actually, I think I had a beer that I don't remember and I'm drunk as a frat boy on Spring Break, I'm dreaming, or I'm going crazy."

"You're not crazy, you're not dreaming, and-" I took a whiff of his breath. "You're not drunk, but lay off the garlic."

"Ha, ha, very funny," said Kojiro, giving me a look. "Okay, so maybe it is true."

'That's what I've been saying all along!" I said. 

"Wait- if you're a Roman Warrior-"

"RONIN Warrior," I corrected.

"Whatever, then how did some girl manage to get you in bed when you didn't want to be there? Explain that, Mr. Ronin Warrior!" said Kojiro. 

I was taken aback. THAT hurt. "One, she was an incredibly strong girl and two, I didn't have access to my powers," I said. "And that really hurt, Kojiro."

"Sorry," said Kojiro. "I forgot how sensitive you were about that."

I sighed. "No, you just saw something you're having trouble believing. Either way, I've got to rescue Ariel and my friends."

"Uh huh- Uh oh, more ugly dudes," said Kojiro. I jumped up into a high back flip and shredded my clothes, leaving me in subarmor. "Cool!"

Three Dynasty goons. Easy as pie. Course every time I knocked one down, two more popped up. I probably had about sixteen or so on me and I was getting tired. I couldn't keep it up forever! 

I heard the clanging of rings in the distance. Anubis was on the way! Then, I heard Kojiro scream as he was covered in ice. How, I wasn't sure at the time. I was thinking that whoever did that to him was going to die slowly and painfully. "Kojiro!" I cried, barley missing a hit from a youja guard. I continued fighting when I heard the ice crack. I turned my head and gasped. 

There, in white and purple subarmor, stood Kojiro, the kanji CREATIVITY on his forehead. 

"Yup. Now I believe you, and it's time to kick some serious boo-tah!!" said Kojiro. He charged the youja guard and started taking them down. Man, for a beginner, he was pretty good. But it wasn't enough. "Man, where do they get these things?!"

"I don't know, just keep fighting!" I said. 

CLANG. I saw the Ancient's Staff land in the middle of the street as the bright light consumed us. The youja guards disappeared and Anubis appeared next to the Staff. He twirled it around and blew it. "I've always wanted to do that."

"Um, who's this guy?" asked Kojiro. 

"Anubis, he's the stand in Ancient," I said. "Thank you."

"Not a problem, even though it wasn't exactly a smart idea to run away like you did, but I accept your reasons," said Anubis. He looked at Kojiro. "Icefire, I see."

"So I'm a Ronin Warrior, neat!" said Kojiro. 

"Not really neat, you do realize we're going to be up against some pretty difficult enemies," I said. 

"Cye, when I spoke to you, you mentioned your daughter, is she all right?" asked Anubis. 

I could almost sense the tears coming. "I'm assuming that she's been taken by the Dynasty, her bedroom was empty when I woke up," I said. "There wasn't any blood or anything, but if they hurt her, I'll kill whoever did it."

"You care about her, I see," said Anubis. 

I nodded. "I know," I said. "I've got to get her and the guys back."

Anubis nodded. "And find Chrono."

"Chrono, that doesn't tell us too much about where to find the person," said Kojiro. 

"What's the virtue?" I asked. 

"I believe Chrono's virtue friendship," said Anubis. He turned to Kojiro. "Your virtue is that of creativity, making you excellent in creating plans and works of art."

"Plans?" asked Kojiro. 

"Basically, you'll know just how to completely and utterly humiliate the Dark Warlords."

"COOL!"


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve: Mia, Yuli, and a Big White Kitty

I tried to train Kojiro for the next few hours, but I was having trouble with my moves. I kept thinking about Ariel. Kojiro slapped a hand down on my shoulder. "Cye, she'll be okay. Right now they'll want to keep her alive."

"You're right, but, I, I should've woken up, I should've been able to-" 

Kojiro put his other hand on my other shoulder. "Cye, calm down. There's nothing more you could've done. Worst case scenario is that she's scared. They're probably treating her all right. And who knows? Maybe she's giving THEM the run around!"

I laughed. Ariel could be a handful at times, but I didn't think she'd actually do that. Besides, the Dark Warlords had short tempers, they'd probably threaten her life and she'd shut up. "You obviously don't know the Dark Warlords very well."

"Ouch, well, she's smart, she'll shut up," said Kojiro. 

Anubis, who had been meditating, stood up. "Anubis?"

"I can sense Mia, Yuli, and White Blaze," he said. 

"Who?" asked Kojiro. 

"Mia and Yuli are two civilians that helped us out during the Dynasty's first two raids, plus, Mia housed us. White Blaze is Ryo's pet," I said. 

"Oh," said Kojiro. 

"Rrooaarr." I smiled. White Blaze was standing right behind Kojiro.

Kojiro stiffened, then turned around, screamed, and promptly jumped into my arms. White Blaze stared at Kojiro curiously, blinking. 

I laughed, putting down Kojiro. "Koji, it's just White Blaze."

"THAT'S a PET!?" said Kojiro. 

"Technically, White Blaze is a guardian tiger, he was supposed to make sure that the five of you got together and got along," said Anubis. "He usually attaches himself to Wildfire, though."

"Oh, I see," I said. Kojiro was a little edgy, but he rubbed White Blaze behind the ears. White Blaze purred, then looked up at me and jumped on his hind legs, putting his front paws on my shoulders, knocking me to the ground. He promptly began to slurp my face. "Hey, stop, that tickles! Hey, I'm glad to see you two, now get off!"

"Rrooaarr," said White Blaze, temporarily jumping off. I sat up and shook my head. 

Kojiro laughed. "You look like shit, man," he said. 

"Not funny," I said. I concentrated on my powers and doused myself with water, which for the most part rid me of the tiger slobber. 

"Cye." I looked over to see a young woman and a young adolescent looking at me. The young woman had short brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a denim jacket over a pair of jeans. The boy was around twelve, with black/brown hair just bellow his ears, one of which had a golden hoop in it, large blue eyes starring at me. He was wearing a black T-shirt and baggy jeans

"Mia? Yuli?" I asked. "Is that you? You both look so, different."

"So do you," said Mia. "You cut your hair."

"So have you," I said nervously. "It's, nice to see you again."

Mia looked at me. "Why did you leave? What happened? For goodness sakes, we thought the Dynasty killed you! How could you just-" Mia was obviously starting to loose her cool.

"Mia, please, calm down, let me explain," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"All right, but this had better be good," she said. 

I frowned. "I know you're mad, but I had a fairly good reason to leave," I said. I looekd over at Kojiro and Anubis. "Mind if I tell them in private?"

"Not a problem, dude," said Kojiro. "So, Anubis, tell me more about these powers, eh?"

I turned back to Mia and Yuli. "Okay, do you remember that about a month before Shelia left I was a little, messed up?"

By the time I was finished, Mia was sympathetic. "So you left because you thought that we were going to disown you or something?" said Mia. 

I nodded. "Sage and others, especially Sage, they always put down teen parents-"

"They wouldn't. They are your friends. Don't worry about it," said Mia. "They were all given a course on teen parenthood, and they have an idea on how tough it is. I have a feeling that what they got was nothing compared to the real thing."

I laughed. "They have no idea, trust me." 

Yuli nodded, looking at me in a whole new light. "Are you okay?" 

"Yes," I said. "It's been difficult, but, I've managed, somehow. But now I've got to get her back."

"You will," said Mia, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Just relax, think over your every step, and you'll get her and the guys back."

I sighed, but nodded anyways. "But I've got to worry about training Kojiro and Chrono, the ex Warlords except for Anubis, rescuing the guys and Ariel, plus there's Talpa to worry about," I said. 

Anubis and Kojiro came back. "So, you've died. What's it like?" asked Kojiro. 

I looked at Kojiro. "Typical armor high. Kento and I were off the walls when we first got our armors," I said. Mia nodded, looking at Kojiro fire question after question at Anubis. 

"Kojiro," I said, "lay off Anubis, ask questions as you need them answered."

Kojiro shrugged. "Hey, if that's how it works, that's how it works. So our mission is: find Chrono, break into Dynasty, save Ariel and your old friends, kick Talpa's butt, and get home in one piece?"

"Basically," I said. "But I'm telling you, it won't be easy."

Yuli tapped my shoulder. Boy, he'd gotten tall. "Cye?" he asked. 

"Yes, Yuli?" I asked. Yuli placed something in my hand. I opened my palm and saw the Jewel of Life. "If you find your daughter, let her wear it. I can take a little better care of myself now than I could all those years ago. Ariel's a little kid; she's practically defenseless. This will help her."

I clutched the Jewel of Life and nearly cried. "Thank you," I said, giving him a quick but tight hug. 

"Jewel of Life?" asked Kojiro.

"It's one of the sacred treasures. The Nine Mystical Armors, the Three Magic Armors, the Ancient's Staff, the White Armor of Inferno, the Soul Swords of Fervor, and the Jewel of Life are all used in the battle for the Mortal Realm," said Anubis. "The Jewel of Life is also known as the Heart of the Ancients. It contains a great amount of power, but it can only be controlled by the pure of heart."

"Is this one of those things you have to see to get it?" said Kojiro.

I nodded. "You'll hardly believe it when you see it, Koji."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: The Armor of the Chrono

About a day passed. We were on our way to a place called the Temple of the Ancients, where we'd hopefully find a way to find Chrono. Hopefully, I'd find a way to rescue Ariel as well. 

"Are you all right?" asked Yuli, tugging on my arm. I looked down at him. "I know you're worried about your daughter. You'll get her back. I know you will."

"Thanks, I needed that," I said. "I don't think you understand what I'm going through, but thank you for your concerns."

"Not a problem," said Yuli. "You know I'm there for you."

"And I really appreciate it-" I never finished that sentence. 

"Kayura!" yelled Anubis. 

"Who?" asked Kojiro.

"Uh oh," I said. 

"That's right, Torrent," said the familiar, yet older voice of Lady Kayura. She jumped down from a tree. She'd aged to about fifteen or so, but she was evil again. Just as Anubis had said. 

"Who's she?" said Kojiro. "She's a babe!"

"Kojiro, she's evil," I said.

"Oh, okay, so I just whip her butt, then?"

"You obviously don't know Lady Kayura that well."

Kayura laughed, flicking her ponytail. "If you think I'm actually scared of you two, dream on! Two Ronin whelks and Anubis, I can take this."

"Yeah right, it's three against one!" said Kojiro, jerking his head at Anubis.

"She's tougher than she looks," I said through my teeth. "Just wait and see for yourself- HIT THE DECK!"

"STAR SWORDS SCREAM!"

White Blaze shielded Mia while Anubis, Kojiro, Yuli, and I leapt out of the way.

Yuli?!

"Huh?" I asked. I turned to look at Yuli to see he was surrounded in a silvery gray light. He emerged what seemed like an eternity later wearing a silver and white subarmor. 

Yuli was the bearer of the Armor of the Chrono.

"Cool!" said Yuli, jumping into a fighting stance. "All right, Lady Kayura, I'm gonna show you-"

"Don't even try it, brat!" she said. "Hmm, maybe this will be tougher than I thought."

I narrowed my eyes. Looks like I had to take the lead. "Try calling up your armor!" I said. 

"What?" asked Kojiro. "Oh yeah! Okay, Armor of the Icefire, Dao KINOSEI!"

"Armor of the Torrent, Dao SHIN!" I cried. 

"Armor of the Chrono, Dao. . .YUUKOU!"

I almost smiled as the familiar silks flew around me, forming the armor I was so familiar with. Once my transformation was complete I grabbed my old yari and twirled it around, just to get the feel of it back. 

I turned my head to see Kojiro in the deep purple Icefire armor. The helmet was wide with three slicked back spikes. His shoulder guards were similar to Sage's, only they ended in three similar spikes. His chest plate was similar to mine, but it was mostly purple with his stomach covered in a deep blue. He held a large battle ax in hand and took a few practice swings. "Cool," he said. 

Yuli's armor was silver in color, being about the same shape as Ryo's helmet, only it had no horns, rather a swooping back thing. The shoulder pads were non-existent, replaced by long and flexible arm guards. His weapon was a short staff with a HUGE saber-like blade. 

"All right, Kayura, where are my friends and what have you done with Ariel!?" I demanded, my yari pointed at the girl in question. 

"The child? Why, she's right here!" said Kayura. Ariel appeared before her, still in her pajamas from the night before. She took one look at Kojiro, Yuli, and me, and began to cry. 

"Let her go," I said. 

"One of you must strike me without harming the child, and then she'll go free," said Kayura. 

Yuli blinked. He looked like he was planning something, but I wasn't sure. I held my yari at bay and began to side step back and fourth. Kojiro and Anubis followed suit. Kayura watched us closely, and failed to notice Yuli sneaking behind her. 

"SILENCE TIME SLICE!" Yuli cried. The attack was silent, and it hit Kayura dead on. I nearly had a heart attack, fearing Ariel would be harmed, but only Kayura was hit. Kayura snarled and prepared to Star Sword Scream Yuli. I leapt in front of Ariel and prepared an attack of my own. 

"SUPAH WAVE SMASHER!" I screamed. Kayura turned around to try and avoid the attack, but it was too late. It hit her dead on. 

"All right, babe, it's over!" said Kojiro, preparing to swing the ax. "SNOW STORM BLAST!" Kayura was frozen in solid ice. The ice shattered, she screamed, and Anubis used the Staff to send her back to the Nether Realm. 

I watched Kayura for a seconds then turned my attention back to Ariel, who was still crying. "Get away from me, you monster!" she said. "I want my Daddy!"

I blinked. Why did she call me a monster!? Then, I realized WHY she was scared. She was used to her seeing her father in civvies, NOT armor. I took off my helmet. "Ariel, it's me." Ariel looked up, and I knelt down to her level.

"Daddy?" she asked. I nodded. "Daddy!" She threw her armors around my neck and I hugged her tightly. I picked her up, holding her tighter than I ever had before, tears of my own streaming down my face. She was okay. Thank God.

"It's okay, baby, it's okay, I'm so glad you're all right. Did they hurt you?" I asked. 

"No," said Ariel. "I'm okay, but what's the big thing you're wearing?"

"Its called Mystical armor. It won't hurt you-"

"But one of these, armors, it was red and greed, it took me away!"

I closed my eyes. I was going to kill Sehkment once I got my hands on him. Perhaps slowly and painfully. Much blood would be a must. "That was Sehkment. He's a very bad man."

"I know. He and his friends, Dais, Cale, Kayura, Osiris, and Talpa, they aren't nice. But there were four really nice men in this dungeon I was in. They were wearing these body suits in red, green, blue, and orange."

"Those are my friend Ryo, Sage-"

"Rowen and Kento, I know. They tried to talk to me and were really nice. I was taken away when Kayura went to attack Torrent. Who's Torrent?" asked Ariel.

"I am. Have I got a story for you- oh, I almost forgot," I said. Anubis walked over to us and looked at Ariel. "This is another friend of mine, Anubis. He used to be a bad man, but he's on our side now."

"Oh my Lord, she IS your spitting image!" said Anubis, wide eyed. "But she is a very beautiful little girl. She looks so much like you, I almost can't believe it."

"Thank you," I said, blushing. 

"Hello," said Ariel. "You have pretty hair."

Mia laughed and came over. "Hi, I'm Mia."

"Hello, Mia," said Ariel. "Are you another of my daddy's friends?"

"Yes I am," she said. "Let's get you something to eat, okay?"

"Okay!" said Ariel, jumping out of my arms. Yuli went over to Ariel after he was back in subarmor. 

"Mia's got some food. It's probably nothing you're used to, seeing your dad is an exceptional cook, but it's still pretty good," said Yuli. "I'm Yuli."

"Hi," said Ariel. She looked at him. "You're cute." 

Yuli laughed. "Sorry, kid, I think I'm a little too old for ya." 

I shook my head. Poor Ariel. I slipped into subarmor myself. 

"Feel better knowing that she's safe?" said Kojiro. I nodded. 

"You don't know HOW good it feels to know that, Kojiro," I said. "You have no idea."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen: Into the Dynasty

That night I didn't think I could be anymore relieved. Ariel was safe and sound. I didn't let her out of my site and woke up periodically to check on her. Still safely asleep under my safe and secure arm. She was seemingly doing all right, considering what she'd been through. Once this was all over, I knew that I was probably going to be helping her come to terms with what she'd been through. She was only four, she didn't need this.

The following morning, Anubis agreed to the bring us all into the Dynasty. That was a relief. I was getting worried about the guys. What was Talpa doing with them? As it was Sehkment was going to be hurting once I got a hold on him. 

"Ariel, be careful, all right?" I said. Ariel nodded. "The Dynasty is very dangerous, but it's too dangerous to leave you or Mia here. Stay with Mia as much as possible."

"Here," said Yuli, giving Ariel the Jewel of Life. "When I was little, well, not as little as you, I didn't have this armor to protect me. I had this. It's called the Jewel of Life. It's a very powerful talisman that will protect you from some of the bad things in the Dynasty, okay?"

"Okay," said Ariel. I picked her up. Ariel gave me a hug and rested her head on my shoulder. Since I'd gotten her back, Anubis had provided her with a small blue kimono, socks, and sneakers. The blue kimono, he explained, had the Torrent attack symbol and well as a symbol that stood for the Ancient's clan. It looked something like the top of the Staff. Basically it was a warning to Dynasty priests and warriors that if so much as a hair was removed from her head they'd have to answer to me and/or Anubis. 

Anubis held the Staff upright. "Cye do you remember the bridge into the Nether World from Talpa's first assault?"

"Yes," I said. "It was like a tornado of some sort- that's the bridge we're using, isn't it?"

"Tornado?" said Kojiro. 

"It's not so bad," said Yuli. "Ride with White Blaze and Mia if you're scared."

"I'm not scared if you're not scared!" said Kojiro. 

Yuli grinned. "Suit yourself."

I laughed. "You just got-"

"I know, I know," said Kojiro. "Rub it in why don't you?" I decided to let him stew for a little while. "So, Mr. Ronin with experience, what do I expect?"

"Well, the Tin Cans you already know about. They're easy enough to defeat. Knock a body part off or puncture a hole and they're dead. Sometimes taking one of their spears is a good idea," I said.

Anubis snorted. "You were the master of it," he said.

"Thank you," I said. "You'll also run into four Dark Warlords with armors similar to ours, but more evil and deadly looking. Now, so you don't mix them up with my friends, Cale wears a tan armor with a big red cape- can't miss him. Sehkment is the ugly green and red one with the spikes, but let me deal with him. We have some personal matters to discuss. Dais seems to have an eye missing and usually wears a magenta armor with two green spiky horns on his helmet."

"Osiris is the last Dark Warlords you need to learn. Black helmet, red face plate, and a black, brown, and yellow overcoat. I used to wear that armor, but I lost it. Kayura you've already met," said Anubis. "I still need roughly five more minutes."

I nodded. "Ryo wears a red armor. He's not that hard to spot. White Blaze will probably be nearby once he finds Ryo. Rowen is in dark blue. He might be flying around or 'flirting' with Kayura. Sage has the green armor. If he doesn't have his helmet on look for a blonde head. He has to carry a big sword since he lacks a place to keep it. Kento is in the orange armor with the helmet that looks like it might belong to a Viking."

"Gotcha," said Kojiro. 

"Ready!" said Anubis. The winds started to pick up. I held Ariel tightly as I felt my feet leave the ground. Ariel had her face buried in my shoulder. Yuli seemed to be enjoying himself, and Kojiro looked like he was going to be sick. 

"I shouldn't have look down," he said miserably. I almost laughed. Poor Kojiro. 

"Just look up and we'll be on solid ground soon," I said. 

"Daddy, look at the view! It's way high up!" said Ariel. 

Yuli laughed. "Koji's afraid and the kid isn't," he said. "I find that funny!"

"Shut up," said Kojiro. But he didn't say anything for the remainder of the trip.

We arrived on Dynasty grounds shortly afterward. We were in an abandoned part of the old "city". "Okay, from here, Cye, Kojiro, and Yuli should take to the tops of the maze. Once the horns start blaring- which they will- drop down into the maze and be careful. Mia, White Blaze, Ariel, will go through the low way. Clear?" said Anubis.

"Crystal," said Kojiro, jumping onto the roofs. Yuli and I followed. I took the lead as we carefully made our way through. 

BLEEP! BLEEP!

"Hey, he knew that was going to happen- YAY! UGLY THINGS!" screamed Kojiro. 

"Drop down!" said Yuli as he twisted the arm on one of them. He seemed to be doing all right for a beginner. As I became to fight against the others, I absently wondered if he was thinking back on the days when he would pretend he was one of us. Was he glad he got his wish? Or was he deeply regretting it?

"UGLY THING'S GOING DOWN!" screamed Kojiro and he ripped a speak out of the hand of one of the Tin Cans. He also ripped its arm out. "COOL!!" He held out the blade and swirled around, taking out half a dozen heads. 

"Would now be a good time to call up our armors?" asked Yuli, how had his hands gripped on a staff held by a Tin Can.

"Ronins, to Arms! I've always wanted to say that. Armor of the Torrent, DAO SHIN!"

"Armor of the Icefire, DAO KINOSEI!"  
"Armor of the Chrono, DAO YUUKOU!"

In a burst of light and cherry blossoms, we stood armored and ready to go. "All right, dumb heads, let's get it on!" I said. Now that I had my own familiar weapon, I was doing much more damage. 

I briefly checked on the other two. Kojiro had taken to swinging his battle ax along with a series of kicks and blocks. Yuli was leaping through the air, slicing at the Tin Heads with the staff. "Don't be afraid to use your sure kills!" I yelled. "SUPAH WAVE SMASHA!" Roughly a dozen soldiers were out for the count.

"All right! SNOW STORM BLAST!" yelled Kojiro. A bright purple energy gathered along the huge moon shaped blade as he swung it. A few dozen Tin Heads were frozen solid. 

"SILENCE TIME SLICE!" he yelled, slicing through the remaining soldiers. 

"Okay, we make an awesome team," said Kojiro. "Now, how do we plan on rescuing your friends?"

I closed my eyes. Rowen busted myself, Kento, and Sage out by the pit. "I think we need to go to the Pit."

"The what!? A Pit?" asked Kojiro. 

I shrugged. "It's this creepy cavern located underneath Talpa's castle. That's where- that's where we're going to look," I said. 

"Huh? Did you just cut yourself off?" asked Kojiro.

"It's best to not ask," said Yuli. Kojiro blinked, then nodded. The three of us took off deeper into the maze, not knowing what we'd find.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen: The Underground Caverns

Kojiro, Yuli, and I made our way into Talpa's castle. Well, we were in a stone corridor that was probably close to the pit. "Cye, are you sure the Pit is a good idea?"

"Positive," I said. "You just have to be careful after we jump."

"Jump?!" said Kojiro. "We're jumping into something called the PIT!? Are you NUTS!?"

"It's a semi-liquid, semi-gas substance. That's what I heard from Rowen, but that was four years ago," I said. We came to the mouth of the corridor, which opened up to an absolutely huge cavern. At the bottom was the Pit. "There it is."  
"It does look like water, and no Tin Heads around. Let's go for it," said Kojiro. The three of us back up, and took off into a run. I jumped off the edge, and dove straight down into the Pit. 

When I initially hit it, I felt as if I was slowly sinking into breathable quick sand. I couldn't see anything. "Can you guys hear me? Can you breathe?" I asked.

"Yes and thank GOD yes," said Kojiro from somewhere to the right. I think. I wasn't sure which way was up. All I knew was that I was hoping that I had made the right choice on where to go.

Eventually, the Pit opened up the big drop. That's where you free fall for roughly ten stories. But there's water at the bottom, so I wasn't scared. Kojiro and Yuli were probably heard the USA. Feeling a bit, I don't know, egotistical, I made a swam dive into the water while the other two hit the water in the forms of panic-stricken belly flops. Moderately funny.

Once they surfaced, we let the current from the underground river carry us along. "Where is this taking us!?" asked Kojiro. He was treading water and seemed to be doing all right. There was a peaceful sound up ahead, but I couldn't put my finger on why it sounded so familiar. The current was moving a little fast, but then again, we'd get ahead faster that way. We'd find the guys sooner, beat Talpa sooner, and I'd get back to Ariel sooner.

Ariel. Things had changed for me so much with Ariel's birth. I was rarely allowed a night out to go to a club or a party, most of my earnings were towards the survival of myself and Ariel, although the majority of it was towards her. Now, things were even more important. When I was fifteen, I was more than willing to risk my life if it meant saving the Mortal Realm. Now, that decision was harder to make. Could I still do that? Would Ariel understand why I'd left her? No, I couldn't do that to her. She'd lost the chance to have a mother who cared about her, I wasn't about to let her loose me. I'd defend the world, but I'd have to be able to live afterwards.

"Hello? Where are we going?" Kojiro asked once again.

I snapped back to reality. "Not sure, but I think it'll be going to a-" I started. I was going to say "alcove", but then Yuli interrupted me.

"You mean WATERFALL!" he screamed.

I looked ahead and sure enough saw a drop-off. "Uh oh," I said. 

"Get a hold off a rock or something!" I yelled. "Then we have to try and jump for the shoreline!"

"Cye! I can't get near any of the rocks!" cried Kojiro. I took a quick look at Yuli. He was perched carefully on the edge of a rock. I went after Kojiro.

"CYE! DON'T DO IT! SAVE YRSLF!" Kojiro took in a mouthful of water. I got a hold of his wrist.

"I got you!" I said. 

"But who's got you!?" said Kojiro.

Good point. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I don't know how long it took for me to wake up. But I remember that much. I did wake up. My mind was a jumbled mess as I tried to remember what happened.

_Ariel. The Pit. The Dynasty. Kojiro. Yuli. River. Waterfall. Lots of pain and screaming._

"Cye, you awake?" I looked up to see Kojiro looking over me worriedly. "Thanks for coming after me, but you shouldn't have done that."

I smiled. "It's all in the job description," I said. 

"Job description!?" said Kojiro. "What job description?!"

I laughed. Then, my face straightened. "Where's Yuli?"

"I don't know. I think he got away, though," said Kojiro. "We'd better go find him."

I say up and looked around. We were roughly an eighth of a mile (Note: I know the Ronins would use the metric system, but I'm not familiar with it enough to make a half decent judgment on about how far away something is with the kilometer) away from the waterfall. It was actually gorgeous, a crystalline white that looked like falling clouds. 

"How'd we survive?" I asked. 

"Not sure, don't really care," said Kojiro. "Let's get out of here."

"I'm still pretty convinced they're down here somewhere," I said. 

Kojiro sighed heavily. "Whatever you say, dude, whatever you say."

I stood up and dusted myself off for no particular reason. Basically, it was instinctive. The two of us headed off in a direction picked by the "scientific" method (Or Kojiro spun around in a circle and randomly chose a direction to travel in) and hoped for the best. Little did we know but we were about to encounter some very unpleasant obstacles.

After an hour or so, we came apon a steamy room filled with exotic plants. Pinks, blues, purples, reds, oranges, yellows, burgundies, colors I don't have names for, all lined the room. The plants were different sizes and shapes, some resembled plants that most people know (rose, daisy, ect) and some weird ones I had only seen in science fiction films. The steam was so hot, I was frying in my subarmor. 

"Wow, someone's got nice taste," said Kojiro. 

"I don't know," I said. "Somehow these plants seem, funny."

"What do you mean they seem funny?" said Kojiro.

I tried to wipe away some sweat. "The heat. It's as hot as a sauna in here."

"Well, maybe it's for the plants," said Kojiro. 

"Maybe, but why do I get the feeling it's something more than that? Surely it doesn't need to be THIS hot?" I asked. 

I heard a light hearted yet very evil laughter in the distance. I looked around. "Shung Le, Dark Warlord of Flora," I said. 

"Hmm, I see you've heard about me, and my name is NOT Shung Le! It's Kioko! Why do people keep calling me SHUNG LE!?" came the now exasperated voice. A somewhat pretty woman with electric blue hair and deep green eyes jumped down. She wore a deep gray subarmor with a black plate over her. . . chest. 

"I don't know, but that's how I heard it," I said. I shook my head. Why was I trying to be nice to her? I almost felt like I was trying to impress her.

"Kioko" walked up to me and began to stroke my chin. "Hmm, Torrent, you're cute. And, supposedly, you're experienced. This'll be fun."

I closed my eyes. "I take it your virtue is Desire or Lust?" I asked. 

"Desire, very good! I like an intelligent man," said Kioko. "So, how's about we-"

"No way," I said, pushing her hand aside and backing away. "I'm not that kind of guy."

"Oh? You mean you're gay or something?" asked Kioko.

"No!" I said. "I meant that I don't do sluts like you!" 

Kioko's eyes began to fume. "Really? Well, no one turns me down. And lives to tell about it. Either you give in to me- you as well, Icefire- or I'll be forced to kill you."

"Yeah right, ya witch," said Kojiro.

"WITCH!? YOU CALLED ME A WHAT?!" screamed Kioko. "Okay, bud, that's it, forget about Torrent, you and me, one on one!"

"Like he said, no-" started Kojiro.

"Not that, you moron, I'm going to kill you," said Kioko.

I looked at Kojiro. "You want-"

Kojiro pushed his hand out towards me. "No, go find your friends. I can take care of this prima donna. I'll meet up with you later. GO!"

I didn't waste any time running for the exit.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen: Sehkment

It was roughly a few hours later that I stopped in a nearby ditch to rest that night. I went for as long as I could, but I couldn't help feeling alone. Yuli. Kojiro and I had lost him at the waterfall. And Kojiro, how did he fare against Kioko, or how was he faring? Looks like Kioko was turning into his adversary. 

Speaking of adversaries, I still had a score to settle with Sehkment for kidnapping my kid. He was going to die slowly and painfully. That snake was going to regret the day his mother was born once I got through with him. I would make him pay dearly.

"Ah, so we meet again, Torrent."

I looked up in alarm to see Sehkment standing over me. Well, Sehkment in subarmor. I hadn't really seen him out of subarmor before. He had shoulder length green hair, tiny black dots with large, snake like eyes and pale, pale skin. I stood up and backed away slightly. I was still a little afraid of him after he'd captured me. But then I toughened up. "You harmed my little girl."

Sehkment sneered. "Beautiful little girl she is. If she weren't so young, I'd deflower her."

THAT got me mad. I grabbed him by his neck and slammed him into a conveniently placed nearby wall. For the first time he looked almost scared. He knew that he had seriously ticked me off and he suddenly looked like he WAS regretting the day his mother was born. "YOU FIEND! KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!"

He smirked. "Not a chance. When she's older, she'll be lovely, and, she'll be mine," he said. I tightened the grip around Sehkment's neck. 

"Then I'll be forced to kill you," I said. 

Sehkment grabbed my own wrist and wrenched it away form my neck, throwing me to the floor. "Oh really? I am a very dangerous Dark Warlord. You won't be able to protect her forever, Torrent. She WILL be mine."

"Not if you're rotting six feet under," I said. 

Sehkment laughed. "Yeah, right. You wouldn't be able to kill you. You probably won't even be able to defeat me in battle."

I stepped back. "Let's see about that. Armor of the Torrent, DAO SHIN!"

"VENOM!" screamed Sehkment. In a burst we both were clad in our armors. I wielded my yari expertly, giving Sehkment a death glare that told him I meant serious business. I intended to harm him. I intended to kill him. He went near my daughter. He wouldn't leave her alone. 

"Ariel is only four years old. You have no right to harm her," I said. "Let's fight."

Sehkment's swords clashed with my yari for what seemed like an eternity. Metal met metal. I blocked his slashes and he deflected my strikes. The battle could have lasted five minutes, could have lasted five hours. I wasn't really sure. All I knew was that I intended to kill him.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't work out that way. 

Finally it got down to sure kills. I unleashed mine first. "SUPAH WAVE SMASHA!" I cried out as the gush of water erupted from my weapon.

Fatal move.

Sehkment grinned, then released his Snake Fang Strike on me. What that did was not only block my attack from hitting him, it deflected it, sending it back at me. I had an eerie flashback from my battle with Red Torrent. Before I could leap away or so much as put up my face mask, the attack hit me full force. I screamed. The burning was so much worse than Red Torrent's attack had been. 

I fell to the ground, gasped for breath. My armor willed itself away, and I felt weak. I felt Sehkment lift me into his arms. "Let me go you monster," I was barley able to say.

"How'd about not?" said Sehkment smugly. That was the last thing I remembered. . .

Hissssssssssssss.

I awoke to that sound.

Hissssssssssssss.

What was that? I came to my senses and realized I was tied up, suspended by a chain connected to a pulley, and dangling above a pit of boiling acid-

BOILING ACID!?

"I see you've finally woken up Torrent. Hope you enjoy your little bath."

I looked over to see Sehkment standing by a switch. "With one flip of the switch, that pulley will begin to slowly lower you into the acid. Little by little your body will feel the hiss as it eats away at your armor, then, it will reach your sensitive flesh. It takes painful seconds for it to devour the bone. Seconds. You'll die slowly and painfully, leaving me to have your daughter when she gets older. I'll have Master Talpa spare her until she's just old enough to bear a child. Maybe I'll name my child after his grandfather, Cye of the Torrent. Failure."

"Leave Ariel alone. Even if you DO kill me, Kojiro will NEVER let any harm come to her!" I said. 

"Good bye," said Sehkment. "You have twenty minutes until you die." He flipped the switch, and after a few loud buzzes and hums, the chain began to slowly lower me down into the bubbling red liquid. "I'd love to stay and watch, but, I have other things to attend to. Chow!" 

I watched as he left. Soon, I'd die. Soon, I'd loose all hope of protecting my little girl. I couldn't let him get her. I had to escape. Unfortunately, it was hopeless.

Ten minutes later, I was below the surface surrounding the acidic pit. Hope was diminishing rapidly. There was no way out. I was doomed. Until I heard that absolutely wonderful inquisition.

"Hey, what's this?"  
I looked up. Someone was in the room! I was about to call for help when I saw a much older Kento look down. "Cye! You're alive!"  
I saw an older version of Sage join him. "Cye! How the heck did you get down there!?"

"Sehkment put me down here and I'll be dead if you guys can't get me out of here!" I said. 

"Cye, hold on, I think I've almost got this dumb thing figured out," came Rowen's voice. I felt the chain stop, suddenly dip, stop again, suddenly go straight up, swing over towards the guys, and drop me on my bottom. Kento and Sage immediately began to free me from the chains, Kento giving me a hug once I was free. I returned the hug, feeling tears coming to my eyes.

"I missed you, why did you have to leave?' asked Kento.

"Yes, why DID you have to leave?" I looked up to see Ryo towering over me. He, too, was much older looking, more mature. Half of him looked overjoyed to see me, the other half looked angry at to why I had left.

Rowen came over as well. "Ryo, lay off him. I'm sure he had a good reason to leave. That message he left on the answering machine, that was sincere," he said, kneeling down in front of me. "Did you come after us?"  
"Yes," I said. "I missed you guys so much."

"Then why didn't you come back?" asked Kento. 

"I was afraid to," I said, looking at the ground. 

"Why? We're your friends, aren't we?" said Sage. 

I took in a deep breath. "Well, remember when I spent about a month absolutely disturbed?"


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: Forgiveness

"Yes?" said Ryo. "I remember that. You were weirded out beyond belief."

"Well, that was Sheila's fault. That night, well, I, I," I started.

Sage looked at my with concern. "What happened? What did she do to you that got you like that?"

I began to tell them everything. They were all enraged when I told them that Sheila had taken advantage of me. There were quite a few mentions of her slow and painful death, especially by Kento. They believed that much. It all fit together. 

Sage asked the major question. "But what does that have to do with you leaving?" he asked.

I gulped. I took a deep breath, preparing my answer carefully. "Sheila got pregnant that night."  
The room fell silent, save the bubbling of the acid. "What?" asked Sage, his eyes getting wide. 

"Whatever she was on, if she was anything, it failed. She left because she didn't want to show, or else she'd be found out. When I went on that walk that night, I met up with Sheila. Our baby had already been born. She wanted to put her in the orphanage. I wouldn't let her. I'd heard too many stories, especially from you, Ryo. I took her. But, I was too frightened to go back to you guys. She threatened to kill me. She threatened the baby. I was frightened, so I fled to Tokyo. I've been living there with Ariel ever since."  
"Ariel?" said Rowen. "That sweet little girl? So that's why they wanted her so badly. She's yours."  
"Yes," I said. "If you guys want to disown me after all this-"

"No, never in a million years," said Kento. "You've been my best friend since we were twelve. And we can still be best friends. We would have understood. And we would have killed Sheila."

Ryo lowered his eyes. "I understand your reasoning for leaving. I forgive you."

"So do I," said Rowen. 

"As do I," said Sage. "How'd you know to come after us?"

"Anubis is alive again, if you guys don't know."

Kento snorted. "Talpa raved about that for a long time, we know."

"Well, he came to me in a 'dream'. It was after a double nightmare. The first one was about the torture session. The second one was about, the rape. Then, he told me you guys were captured, he was alive, there were three other armors, one already evil, and two more to be found. Then I told him about the rape and he asked if Ariel was my weak spot. He told me to wake up, but by the time I did she was already gone. She's okay now, but, I was so frightened. I got up and ran into my friend, Kojiro. I met him at the Teen Crisis Center I went to. Poor guy was in his pajamas and half asleep when a Tin Can attacked us in the hallway of our apartment building," I said. 

"We've heard about these armors, find their bearers?" asked Rowen. "We already know about Kioko, she's the one that caught us all."

"Kojiro is the bearer of Icefire. He was a little wussy at first but he suddenly toughened up when Kioko challenged him. Yuli has the Armor of the Chrono. Weird, isn't it?" I said. 

"Yuli?!" said the others in unison. I nodded. 

"He got his powers around the time Kayura showed up with Ariel. Poor kid was terrified of me. I was in armor and she didn't know who I was. I'm only hoping she's with Anubis and Mia and White Blaze. . . Sehkment! He said he was going to go after her!" I said, suddenly panicked. 

"No he won't, let's go," said Ryo. 

It felt good to be back with the guys. I felt like a piece of my heart had been replaced, or at least patched up. After we made it outside into the blinding light (well, to everyone but Sage), and once my eyes adjusted, I noticed Sage looked a little green, and it wasn't from his armor. His eyes were directed at something lying on the ground. I looked down an almost regretted it immediately. 

There, laying on the ground, was the body of Sehkment, Dark Warlord of Venom. Something had ripped his throat open, his eye permanently fixed in that of pure, anguishing pain. His jaw was also ripped off, located in a pile of blood and teeth a few feet away. Blood was everywhere, the smell of it somewhat strong. His hair was stained red with blood. One way or another, he was dead. (Note: This is in no way directed as an insult towards any Sehky fans. This was just to add something to the story- Dixxy)

"Oh my God," said Ryo. "I have a feeling that White Blaze did that, but why?"  
"He probably ran into White Blaze, Anubis, Mia, and Ariel. Sehkment probably gave his little Ariel speech and angered White Blaze," I said. "Still, it's sickening."

"There's got to be a better way around this," said Kento. One by one we leapt over it, careful to avoid the jaw. We ran away from the spot as fast as possible. 

Not even a minute later we came apon a lake, where, sure enough, White Blaze was rinsing the blood from his face and Anubis was assisting him. I saw Mia, Ariel, and miraculously, Yuli, a short distance away. 

"He really is alive," said Rowen. 

Anubis looked up and waved us over. Mia, Yuli, and especially Ariel ran over. Ariel jumped up into my arms. "Daddy!" she cried. "That man said he was going to-"

"I know, I know," I said. 

"She really is your kid," said Rowen. 

"You know, I thought she looked familiar, now I know why," said Kento, shaking his head. "She looks just like her daddy."

"Everyone says that," I said blushing. 

Ryo was looking at Yuli in pure amazement. "I don't believe this," he said. 

"Believe it," said Yuli.

Mia smiled. "He held himself much better than Kojiro did. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"Last I saw of him he was picking a fight with Kioko, Dark Warlady of Flora. She gets mad if you call her Shung Le," I said.

"She's sometimes called Shung Le since she strongly resembles a former Dynasty priestess named Shung Le whose power were drawn from plants," said Anubis. "That woman knew how to have a good time."

"How would you know that?" asked Mia suspiciously.

"We went out before her execution," said Anubis. "She was the only person I knew who could tie a cherry stem into a knot using only her tongue. It was fascinating."

"Someone had a little too much free time on their hands if you ask me," Kento mumbled. 

Anubis either ignored Kento or didn't hear him. "Now we need to find Kojiro and defeat Talpa."

"Easier said than done," I said. 

"Well," started Mia, "where was Kioko's lair?"  
"Down in the underground caverns, but I'm not sure if I could get there again," I said. 

"Then we improvise and see what we can do about hunting him down," said Anubis. "If he won the battle, which we should hope he did, he logically went to search for the rest of us."

"Is Koji gonna be okay?" asked Ariel. "Are we all gonna be okay?"  
I looked at my daughter. "I hope so, sweetheart, I hope so."


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: Fuschia

"You're good," I said, slashing my battle ax at Kioko once again. 

Kioko leapt out of the way, but I saw it coming and tripped her. "So are you."

"Thanks, I just got this thing a couple of days ago," I said, using my ax to block her saber. As I kept the pressure to the sword, I thought that over. I DID just get that thing a few days ago. Then how did I get so good with the battles with just a few days of experience? Shouldn't I still be having trouble in the fights?

"Does your skill frighten you, Icefire?" mocked Kioko. The woman in green and pink armor laughed as she attempted another hit. I back-flipped out of the way. "The Three Magical Armors have instinctive fighting skills. Like or not, you're now a lethal, blood thirsty killer. Just join us now, but I'll accept later as well."  
"How about NEVER!!" I cried, attempting my sure-kill. Duh. Ice kills plants. Hello, Kojiro, anyone home? You COULD have done that earlier, like, oh, an hour ago would have been nice. But no. You had to be a pig-headed egotistical male and try to beat an experienced fighter in hand-to-hand combat. Typical me, eh? At least, that what Cye says.

Of course, Cye is also a Ronin Warrior who has probably killed a few Dynasty soldiers and other not-so-nice things to think about. 

During the majority of my adult life, from seventeen to twenty-one, I never imagined Cye had this kind of a past. When I met him, he'd been a scared, nervous sixteen year old kid with a kid of his own with no job, only a couple thousand yen and the clothes on his back to his name, and absolutely no where to go but the Teen Crisis Center in Tokyo. Now this? It didn't seem like the Cye I knew at all. Was he really a vicious killer? Was he really some barbaric warrior?

No, he wasn't. Even if Cye had fought something I was just beginning to understand, he still had his humanity. Innocence, no. He'd fought in a war and he hadn't woken up as a virgin in five years, so no, he wasn't innocent by any stretch of the mind. But he had a pure heart. He cared so much for Ariel. For someone whose destiny led him to battles and fighting, Cye was a great parent. I know I couldn't have done that good. Sure, I baby-sat a few times, but mostly Cye raised that kid himself. Did a good job for a warrior, I think. 

"You're lying," I said to Kioko. "I am a Ronin Warrior. I REFUSE to believe I can become a heartless killer."

"It'll happen. Eventually. So just give in," said Kioko.

"No," I said flatly. 

"Fine then. VINE WHIP EVOLUTION!"

Before I could do anything, vines began to whip out from the ground and held me captive. My armor faded away, leaving my in my subarmor. I was eventually tied into a kneeling position that I couldn't move from. The vines were tight. Kioko laughed. "Let me go you-"

"No," said Kioko. "Master Talpa wishes to see you himself. He wants to see what the next of the Magical Armors has to offer."

I was brought before a huge armor sitting on a throne in a red room with all sorts of torches perched about. I stared at the armor. It had a red face and white "hair". The armor itself had at least ten different blades including seven- count 'em SEVEN- swords on his back. It was a dismal gray/black in color. "What is THAT?" I asked.

The armor's eyes glowed red. "I am Talpa, lord of the Evil Dynasty. You will bow down to me, Kojiro of the Icefire."

THAT was Talpa?! Good going, Koji, you insulted the BIG guy. I decided to see how bold I could get. "Oh, so you're the big bag of hot air I've heard so much about," I said.

Talpa's eyes glowed again. "WHAT!?"  
"Oh yeah, your warlords always talk about the big bag of hot air," I said. "I assumed that was you."  
"The Four- no, THREE Stooges are in trouble," said Talpa, his eyes glowing. This was the only type of emotion I could actually see on his armored face. Very boring.

"Three? Aren't there-"

"The cat killed Sehkment."  
_Good boy, White Blaze! _I thought to myself. Now, how could I get out of there. Hmm. My virtue was Creativity. That meant I could create creative plans to get back at Talpa. So, I had to be deceitful, sneaky, and all out interesting. "You know, uh, Talpa, is it? That is NOT your color."

"What are you- is it?" asked Talpa, suddenly curious.

"YES!" I said. "It looks GOD-AWFUL on you! You're more a. . . fuschia."  
"Fuschia?"

"Fuschia. Lucky for you I'm GREAT with colors," I said. "Now, if you color coordinate, then your Dynasty servants will have a greater respect for you, therefore, work HARDER for you."  
"Really?" asked Talpa, his eyes glowing.

"Yes, really, now, if ya untie me I can help you out," I said. 

"Guards! Untie him! Now!"

"Looser," I said, slamming the door to Talpa's room. From the other side I could hear the now VERY pink emperor of the Dynasty admiring himself. What a dope. So gullible. Now, to find Cye and the other Ronin Warriors. I grinned to myself. Not bad for a first try at humiliating the Overlord of the Evil Dynasty. The Warlords would NEVER let him hear the end of it.

"Would yellow how have been better?" I wondered. "Nah!" I took off down the hallway before the big dumb thing figured out he'd been had.

"**RONIN!!!!!!!**"

Ah, he figured it out. Time to haul some butt out of there. Once I saw the Tin Cans, I wisely sprinted down the hallway as fats as my two legs could carry me. Shockingly, I was REALLY fast. And smooth. Wow, I could get used to that thing! It kicked BUTT!

I skidded to stop at the end of the hallway. Above me was, conveniently enough, a sewage pipe. I considered dumping it on the unsuspecting guards, but since I didn't want to smell like poo-gas for the remainder of my little adventure, I wisely chose not to. I'm crazy, yes. Stupid? No. Me, I'm just. . . creative.

Heh, heh, heh. 

Still, I had to get them off my trail. 

"THERE HE IS!" one cried. All thirteen of them charged me. I then saw another useful object. Well, a few useful objects.

Two cans of Silly string and a lighter. Thinking evilly, I flicked on the lighter, then aimed the silly string at the flame. The guards stopped, puzzled at what I was doing. 

FWASH!!!!

All that remained of the incompetent lackeys was charred shells. 

"I better keep this away from Ariel," I mumbled to myself. "Hmm, I wonder where Kioko is. . ."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen: Yuli's Quest

I still couldn't believe I was a Ronin Warrior! This was so cool! But, still, there WAS Ryo and the others to rescue. Maybe being a Ronin wasn't so cool. I didn't like fighting for my life and the Mortal Realm. This wasn't like the games I played when I was a kid. This was real. I had a huge responsibility.

Not to mention I had a feeling that Kojiro and I could get along a _little_ bit better, maybe. But then again it WAS fun to annoy him. The sap. I enjoyed picking on him. Kojiro was a bit of a wuss, making him an easy target. I was just trying to get my mind off of things.

But he was Cye's friend, and had apparently helped Cye during a rough time in his life. I still didn't understand why Cye had been so afraid to tell us about what happened. Me? I understand. I was only eight when he left. I didn't understand any of those concepts of love, and sex, and reproduction. I just learned all that when I was eleven! 

It burns me now to know why he was acting to strangely. I can remember he stayed in his room a lot after that one time Sheila brought him home. The morning after. He was a mess for a month. I was worried about him, but he wouldn't even talk to Kento. I remember drawing him a picture of him in his armor (which was basically a blue stick figure that had a grey horn and holding a big pointy stick) and sliding it through the door. Kento told me Cye had put it up on the wall. I think he was just being polite. If we had only known what had happened, then maybe, maybe he would have stayed. Maybe none of this would have happened. 

No. I can't say that. There's no way to tell. And then Kojiro would have been defenseless without a clue.

Which is EXACTLY where I was. 

After I'd managed to somehow pull myself to shore after Kojiro and Cye fell over the water fall, I attempted to dry off my hair and slept in one of the dug-out grooves in the cave walls. It was creepy, and I didn't like it. It made me think of my parents. I almost cried. I missed them so much. I can still remember my mother's warm smile and my dad's hearty laugh. I wonder what would have happened if they had lived. I still would have gone to see the guys as much as possible- Mia, too- but there was never a trace found of them. 

"Yuli. . ."

I looked up. "Mama?" I asked. 

"Yuli. . ."

"Dad!?" I asked excitedly. "Have you been here all this time!?"

"Yuli. . ."

"Mom! Dad!" I cried, running towards the sound of their voices. 

"Yuli . . ."

"MOM! DAD! I'M COMING! I'LL GET YOU OUT OF HERE! I' A RONIN WARRIOR NOW!"

"Yuli . . ."

At that point I was beginning to get suspicious. Why hadn't they gotten excited to hear me? My voice had changed a little, sure, but not THAT much! I made my way slowly towards the source and was horrified at what I saw. 

Badamon. He and several of his Nether Spirits were gathered around an altar. Floating about the altar were the spirits of my parents. "Yuli. . . come here, my child," my mother asked. 

Badamon turned his head. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Yuli of the Chrono. I should have guessed you were a Ronin in the making all those years ago," he said. "Then, I could have disposed of you early on. The warlords could have easily severed your head. Come out now, I know you're there."

"What are you doing with my parents!?" I demanded and I stepped out of the shadows. "Where are they?"

"Right here. This is all that is left of them. I thought you'd enjoy watching me turn their souls into Nether Spirits."

"NO!" I cried as the chanting began. "NO! MOM! DAD! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Badamon began to chant. I HAD to stop him from taking my parents! I HAD to! "Armor of the Chrono, DAO YUUKOU!" In a flash I was in my armor. "SILENCE TIME SLICE!"

FWASH!

"AHHHH! YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU- AH!" screamed Badamon as he faded away. "THIS ISN'T THE LAST TIME WE'LL BATTLE, CHRONO! THIS BATTLE IS NOT FINISHED!"

"For now, it is," I said firmly. The other Nether Spirits wisely flew off in several directions. My parents' spirits snapped out of whatever trances they were in by the time I was back in subarmor. 

"Wh. . . where am I? The last thing I remember is- Yuli!" my mother cried. She floated over to me. "What, what happened to you, my child?"  
"I, I grew up," I said, almost in tears.

My father joined her. "You'll always be our son. And never forget that."

"Thank you for saving us, Yuu-Yuu," said my mother. Yuu-Yuu, my mother's old pet name for me.

"Are you alive or dead?"

My mother took in a deep "breath". "I'm afraid we're dead, my son. We were killed early on in the war. I'm glad you got away."

"We both are," said my father. "And you've grown up into a strong young man. Please, take care of yourself. Make us proud."

"I, I will. Good, good, good bye," I said as they slowly faded away.

"We love you. . ."

"I love you, too, Mom, Dad," I said. Soon, they were gone. I began to sniffle, then, I fell to my knees and cried my eyes out.

I stopped blubbering a few hours or so later. I stood up, wiped my tears away, and started looking for the exit. I had to find it eventually. I just had to.

"AHHHH!"

"Ariel!" I cried. I darted towards the sound of her voice. White Blaze and Anubis were defending Ariel and Mia from a bunch of Dynasty goons. I joined in the fight. 

"Yuli!" cried Ariel. 

"Stay back!" I said, sending a Tin Head into a wall. It caved into itself. I then leapt infront of Ariel and Mia, blocking the Tin Cans until the last one was impaled by the Staff. 

"Nice handiwork, Anubis," I said. 

"Not bad for a beginner," joked Anubis. "Come we must continue on."


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty: Kento's Recollection

It was four years ago that Cye left. A little more, actually, but it had still been four years. I missed him. It hurt to know that my best friend had walked out on me and the others. He'd missed so much. Yuli was growing up. We all graduated from high school and were boarding at Mia's place for college. 

I stared at the old picture. It had been taken the week before he left. It was at the beach. Him, Sage, and I were huddled together, Sage and I holding Cye up from under his knees. A kind old woman had taken the picture. We were all laughing and having fun that day. It made me miss him terribly.

"You okay?" 

I looked up. Sage. Since Cye had left, Sage had moved into our old room. He said that "us younger Ronins gotta stick together" when he did. He also wanted to help me with dealing with Cye's leaving. 

Don't get me wrong, we were all affected one way or another. Ryo went into some kind of a fury against Cye and mostly referred to him as the Traitor. Rowen was searching all over the place looking for him in his car. He came at late, late hours empty handed without any trace of him. He did that for a month before he gave up. Mia wanted to call the police, but all five of us are legally independent. No one can hold us down because of that, so filing him as a runaway was useless. Plus, the phone call a week later stopped us from filing a missing persons report. Still, she did track the morgue regularly. Sage got quiet and tried to comfort me. Yuli, he was just, confused. He didn't understand it anymore than we did.

As for me, I mellowed out, quieted down a LOT, and tried to not loose it. Sage helped a lot. We'd gotten somewhat close, and that felt good. He wasn't my best friend or anything- he and Rowen were still two peas in a pod- but he and Ryo tried to pick me up. Cye and I knew each other WAY longer than anyone else. We'd been friends since we were twelve. I'd saved him from a gang trying to steal his money. He was a small kid. An easy target, so to speak. 

"Yeah, I guess I'm okay," I finally responded. "I just miss him. I feel, I feel like he misses me, too. Like he wants to come home. But, I got the feeling-"

"He's afraid?" said Sage. I nodded. "I got the same feelings too. I know the three of us hate bringing it up, but I think that one time we were captured brought the three of us closer together. Rowen and Ryo, they never will understand what we went through unless they go through it, God forbid."

I nodded. "Maybe. But, it's more than fear. There's something holding him back. But, I can't tell what."

Sage nodded. "Same here. And we both know that. I fished the old tape out of the garbage. And I made sure Cye's message was still there. He's no traitor. No way."

_"Hello? It's me, Cye. I, I'm sorry I left you guys a few nights ago, but, something happened. It's not necessarily bad, and it's not necessarily good, either, but I need to handle this on my own. Besides, I'm a bit embarrassed to even consider returning. Until I can gather up the courage to talk to you guys, I guess, I guess this is good-bye. I really am sorry, I just can't- I don't know, but, things are just so, complicated. I'm afraid to come home. Kento, Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Mia, Yuli, White Blaze, please, please just remember I'll try to come back some day. Today just isn't that day." _Those words stuck in my head. I didn't think there was any way in the world they'd ever get OUT of my head. Maybe when Cye came back, then they might leave my head. Maybe. . .

"You kept that?"

"Yes. Ryo's completely turned against him, and Rowen might join him soon enough. Mia even thinks he abandoned his destiny. Yuli, you, and I are the only ones who might still be on his side if he does come back," said Sage.

Yuli walked in. "Hey," he said. "I heard you guys talking, and, I agree with you. Mia, Ro, and Ryo, they all don't have faith in him. But he must have left for a really good reason."

Sage cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"  
"Yeah," said Yuli. "You guys are Ronin Warriors. You all accepted your destinies. None of you would ever turn your back on the Mortal World. Cye told me that once, before he left. So I think something else happened. It wasn't a murder since they would've found him by now, and Cye wouldn't get himself killed. I don't see him as a run away, either."

"Neither do I. We agreed we'd do the Ronin things together," I said. 

"So why would he leave for something little?" said Yuli. 

"You're right, you know," I said. "You're-"

"VINE WHIP EVOLUTION!!!"  
"What the heck was that!?" I yelled. "Yuli, stay in here!" Sage and I darted up off my bed and went out the door, our armor orbes in hand. 

"Could it be the Dynasty!?" I said. "But they're defeated! Aren't they!?"  
"Obviously not," said Sage as we reached the door. Mia was in the living room. "Get yourself and Yuli out of here!" Mia just nodded as we got outside.

Ryo and Rowen were already staring down the strange, green and pink armored person standing before us. They held a great saber in their hands. Their helmet looked like an upside-down flower without any piece of the stem. From looking at the chest plate it looked like we were dealing with a female. Her shoulder pads with curved and the entire piece looked like it had intricate floral carvings on it.

"Who are you!?" asked Ryo. 

"I am Kioko of the Flora, servant of the Evil Dynasty. And Master Talpa would like to have a chat with the seven Ronin Warriors," she said. 

"Seven?" asked Rowen. "Last time I checked there were four present, and one missing. What do you mean seven?"

The strange woman blinked. "So, Chrono and Icefire haven't awoken yet? Very well then. Four will have to do."

"Yeah right!" said Ryo. "Armor of the Wildfire, Tao JIN!"

"Armor of the Strata, Tao INOCHI!"

"Armor of the Halo, Tao CHI!"

"Armor of the Hardrock, Tao GI!"

In a flash we all stood in subarmor. Kioko laughed. "Pathetic. And if you say that your armors will be more impressive, I won't see it anytime soon."

"Huh?" asked Ryo, but before anyone else could make a comment, a LOT of vines shot up from the ground, entangling us. "Hey! What kind of a trick is this!?"

Kioko laughed. "Hmm, you're now property of the Dynasty. I guess Sehkment WILL have to search and locate the last three."

"Cye," I said softly. Then I went back to trying to rip the vines free, Every time one broke, it was replaced by two more. Breathing was becoming a challenge. Sage sent me a look that begged me to not struggle. 

Struggling was useless. Our battle for freedom was over. 

For now. . .

"Cye, you've got to come back and get us out," I said softly.

"RYO! ROWEN! KENTO! SAGE!"

"MIA! RUN!" yelled Ryo. I could feel Mia and Yuli begin to run. "WHITE BLAZE! GO WITH THEM!"  
"FIND CYE!!" yelled Rowen. "HE'S OUR ONLY CHANCE! YOU HAVE TO FIND CYE!"  
"Cye, hmm? That the Ronin of Torrent?" asked Kioko. "I'll deal with the civilians later. But for now, you're all mine."

I looked up. _Cye, you ARE our only hope. You have to bust us out. Please, don't fail us._

Don't fail me. . .


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

Part Twenty-One: Kento's Recollection, Part Two

Kioko brought us into a room were we were held down by chains. The catch? We were all buck naked, but she luckily didn't see anything important. Kioko grinned. "Not bad, not bad at all for any of you." She went down into her subarmor, and we saw what she looked like. She was kind of pretty, but I didn't like her. She was evil.

I blushed. This was humiliating. 

"I'd just like you all to know that thanks to Osiris, the Armor of Cruelty has been stripped from Anubis, and the Lady Kayura and the Three Stooges are back under Talpa's control," she said. 

"What!?" we asked in unison. Oh no. THAT'S what happened. 

"But, that doesn't really concern you that much. This will though," said Kioko.

After a minor torture session involving a lot of whips and hot pokers, Kioko decided she was finished with us and has us thrown into a dark, dank dungeon cell. Thankfully we were back in our subarmor. It was about the size of a small bedroom. All around was a very, very shallow light source, so dark that the whites of our subarmor looked like a grayish-blue in color. Sort of like the cartoons where it's so dark all you can see are the two eyes. Much like the holding cell Talpa used before Cye, Sage, and I were half-fried. Ryo and Rowen could see our discomfort.

"Calm down," said Rowen. "Talpa won't do anything that could possibly harm Ryo, since he's the main link to the Inferno, so he probably won't bother with the rest of us."

Sage glared at Rowen, but said nothing. He was mad. Halo curled up in a corner and said nothing. Uh oh. When Sage stews, it's never a good thing.

I went over to the corner he was sulking in. "Rowen's right. We have to have faith. Cye won't leave us."

Sage nodded. "I'm upset because he KNOWS what we've gone through. Cold hearted-"

"Cool it," I said. Ryo and Rowen were discussing something in the opposite corner. "Cye'll come through."

"Let's hope so," said Sage. 

A few days passed. I kid you not. A few DAYS passed. We were fed well enough. There wasn't a bathroom, but, well, we never really had to "urge to go" when we were in subarmor. And we ruled out loss of bladder control a long time ago. 

"Hey, guys?" I asked randomly. 

"What, Kento?" asked Ryo. 

"To keep from going insane, where DOES the food go while we're in subarmor?" I asked. 

A bunch of shrugs and "I don't knows" were my answer. 

"Why'd you ask?" asked Ryo. 

"Lack of imagination, and the fact every time we've tried a plan it never got off the ground," I said. "I REALLY hope Anubis is getting to work on this."

"He is," said Sage. "He won't leave us hanging."

Suddenly, a popping sound filled the small room. Then, the whimpering of a small child could be heard. "I'll go check it out," I whispered. I followed my ears to the sound of the child. I was slow, quiet, and stealthy. I didn't want to scare the poor kid.

My eyes finally saw a small child with deep, auburn hair in a messy ponytail. She was wearing a pink Sailor Moon nightgown and had bare feet. "What's a kid like you doing here in a place like this?" I asked softly. 

The girl looked up. Deep green eyes looked back at me. She looked so familiar, but I knew for the life of me I'd never seen her before. "Who, who are you?" she asked. 

"My name's Kento," I said. "How'd you get here?"

"A bad man in a scary green and red armor brought me here," she said through sobs. "I want my Daddy!"

"Shh, don't cry, when we get out of here we'll get you back to your Daddy," I said. "He's probably really worried about you."

"I know. He loves me, he says so every day," she said. 

"Well we'll make sure you get back to him," said Sage, who'd come over. "I'm Sage."

"I'm Ryo, and that's Rowen over there," said Ryo. "We'll make sure they don't hurt you, okay?"

Rowen snorted. "We're back to being baby-sitters," he said. 

The little girl made a face that told us she was thinking. It was adorable, and once again, oddly familiar. "You guys are the Roman Warriors that the meanies talked about, aren't you?"

"That would be us, and actually, it's RONIN Warrior, but you were close, kiddo," I said. "What's your name?"

"Ariel," she said shyly. 

"That's a pretty name," said Sage.

Ariel smiled. "Why am I here?"

"We aren't sure," said Rowen. "But I'm pretty sure that they want you for something big, since the Dynasty usually won't go to that kind of a length for something if it weren't to be to their advantage."

"Dynasty?" asked Ariel.

"That's sort of where we are," said Ryo. "The Dynasty is the name for the evil force that lives here. Like. . . the Negaverse on Sailor Moon."

"And you're like the Sailor Senshi," said Ariel. 

"Uh, not quite," said Rowen. "We're similar, but not like them. Are you following?"  
"I think so."

"Good," I said. "Now, who's your daddy?"

"Why do you want to know that?"

"So we can get you to him after this whole mess is over and done with," I said. "And you can trust us. I give you my word. Ronin Warrior's honor."

"Ronin Warrior's honor," said Ariel. "His name is. . . is. . .uh. . . Koji calls him something. . . why can't I-"

Suddenly, someone else was in the room. "Sorry boys, time for the brat to come with me."

"Kayura!" I said, standing infront of Ariel. "Don't you dare hurt her! She's just a little kid!"  
"I'm not little! I'm four and three months old!" argued Ariel. 

"Little enough," I countered. "Kayura, stay away from-" Before I could finish, one of her Starlight Swords was pressed up against my neck. I froze, and Kayura grabbed poor Ariel by her nightgown. She screamed. Kayura laughed.

"See you later, boys," she said, then she and Ariel vanished. I closed my eyes. Rats. I'd let the girl down. 

"You did all you could, Kento," said Rowen, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him. "We would've stepped it, but, we didn't want you to get impaled."

"Thanks," I said. Then, I looked up. "What in the world is that?"

"What in the- the blue light?" asked Rowen. "I, don't know, but- I bet it's the portal device that they use to get out of here!"

"Men, we are out of here!" said Ryo.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Kento's Recollection, Part Three

Free. Free at last! It was the four of us versus the Dynasty and we were MAD. We'd have to save Ariel later. Now we had to hope we'd find Chrono, Icefire, and/or Cye. I deeply prayed those three weren't captured. If they were. . . we'd be in BIG trouble. 

We spent the entire time running up and down hallways, destroying Tin Cans and avoiding the Dark Warlords. "Where do you think that they have Cye?" I asked. "Or, if he's free looking for us, where would he go?"  
"The Pit!" said Rowen. 

"Oh yeah! The Pit!" said Sage. Then, he did a double-take. "THE PIT!?! You WANT to go into the PIT!?"

"It's the most logical place to look," said Rowen. "I know we all don't like it, and neither does Cye, but it'll be one of the first places he'll look."

"Rowen does have a point," said Ryo. "But I'm still going to get an explanation on where he went. IF he showed his treacherous face here."

I wanted to say something, but I kept my mouth shut. Ryo know how I felt. But he was our leader, so I didn't want to question him on the matter.

We somehow reached the Pit without a problem. Now we had to jump into it, and then we'd hope for the best. 

You could tell I was thrilled with that option. I hate heights. Okay, I stand corrected. I don't hate heights. It's the falling from them part that scares me. Maybe it's because it's the farthest I can be from my element at any given time. Get what I'm saying?

"Okay, on the count of three, we all jump, okay?" said Ryo. The three of us nodded, and jumped. I screamed. We all screamed. But it wasn't for ice cream. (Ooo, bad, bad pun!)

PLOOSH!

That was the sound we made when we hit it. We slowly sunk down, somehow able to breathe in that weird climate. While it was fascinating, it was also really creepy. We slowly, slowly sunk. I looked around. The other guys had different looks on their faces. The Pit clogged my mind, so I don't' remember who looked like what.

I know that Ryo was assuming we wouldn't find Cye here. . .

Suddenly, the fall picked up the pace as we hit a river. "I CAN'T SWIM!" I yelled. 

"WE KNOW!" yelled Ryo.

"I CAN'T SWIM EITHER!" said Rowen. "I SHOULDA TAKEN THOSE LESSONS FROM CYE WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!"  
"SAME HERE- **_WATERFALL!!!!!!_**" I screamed.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

We all flew over the side of the waterfall screaming bloody murder. Rowen was the lone exception, since he can fly. So he was calmly hovering above us in one of his blue bubble things while the rest of us treaded water and somehow got to shore. He calmly- CALMLY!- floats down to us. 

"If Wildfires, Halos, and Hardrocks were MEANT to fly we would have been given wings!" said Ryo.

"Sorry," said Rowen. "C'mon, let's check this place out."

"I hate you, Rowen," I said. 

"Thank you for the compliment, Kento."  


It was some time later that we had wandered into a strange room with a big control panel with a lot of buttons and stuff. In the center of the room was a big vat with something dangling by a rope. It was low, so I couldn't see what it was. 

"Hey, what's this?" asked Rowen, looking at the panel.  
At about that some time, I wandered curiously over to edge of the vat. There was a hissing, boiling sound. Like acid or something. I looked down and saw what was dangling about the bubbling red acid. There, tied to the rope, was the one person I hoped I was going to find. Cye. He was looking up at me, and even from where I was I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "Cye! You're alive!"  
Sage snapped to attention and dashed over. "Cye! How the heck did you get down there!?"

"Sehkment put me down here and I'll be dead if you guys can't get me out of here!" said Cye. It was so good to hear his voice again, even if he was in life threatening danger. 

Rowen gasped. "Is he down there?" Sage turned his head and nodded. He turned back to the panel and hollered over his shoulder, "Cye, hold on, I think I've almost got this dumb thing figured out."

I watched the rope dipped, then lifted, and dropped him over by where I was kneeling. I helped untie him and I hugged him. "I missed you, why did you have to leave?" I asked.

"Yes, why DID you have to leave?" I looked up to see Ryo towering over us. There was murder in his eyes.

Rowen came over as well. "Ryo, lay off him. I'm sure he had a good reason to leave. That message he left on the answering machine, that was sincere," he said, kneeling down in front of Cye. "Did you come after us?"  
"Yes," he said softly. "I missed you guys so much."

"Then why didn't you come back?" I asked.

Cye looked at the ground. "I was afraid to." 

"Why? We're your friends, aren't we?" said Sage. 

"Well, remember when I spent about a month absolutely disturbed?"

"Yes," said Ryo, "I remember that. You were weirded out beyond belief."

"Well, that was Sheila's fault. That night, well, I, I," said Cye.

Sage's eyes narrowed. "What happened? What did she do to you that got you like that?" he asked.

Cye sighed heavily. "Well, it was muddy, as you know, and I got really dirty because a car splashed me. So, Sheila let me get washed up. But then she started getting ideas, if you know what I mean by ideas. I told her no, but she persisted. I was overpowered and she. . . she. . ."

"Oh no, Cye," I said, holding him tightly. 

"It's, it's okay, it's in the past, there's nothing we can do to change that, especially now," he said. 

Sage asked the major question. "But what does that have to do with you leaving?" he asked.

Cye gulped. He took a deep breath, looking very, very nervous. "Sheila got pregnant that night."

The room fell silent, save the bubbling of the acid. "What?" asked Sage, his eyes getting wide. 

"Whatever she was on, if she was anything, it failed. She left because she didn't want to show, or else she'd be found out. When I went on that walk that night, I met up with Sheila. Our baby had already been born. She wanted to put her in the orphanage. I wouldn't let her. I'd heard too many stories, especially from you, Ryo. I took her. But, I was too frightened to go back to you guys. She threatened to kill me. She threatened the baby. I was frightened, so I fled to Tokyo. I've been living there with Ariel ever since," said Cye. Ariel. That was why she was so familiar. She looked just like Cye. I hit myself mentally for that one.  
"Ariel?" said Rowen. "That sweet little girl? So that's why they wanted her so badly. She's yours."

"Yes," said Cye. He gulped. "If you guys want to disown me after all this-"

"No, never in a million years," I said. Cye looked at me curiously. "You've been my best friend since we were twelve. And we can still be best friends. We would have understood. And we would have killed Sheila."

The others all forgave Cye for leaving. I was in shock beyond belief, but we had to figure out what was going on first. Cye then told us how Anubis told him what was going on in his dream, about how Sehkment had kidnapped poor Ariel, and that his friend Kojiro Tomae was the bearer of Icefire and that Yuli was Chrono. THAT was another eye opener. That was when Cye recalled that Sehkment had talked about some nasty stuff he was going to do to Ariel, so we all took off.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

Part Twenty-Three: Yuli's Sacrifice (Note: back to Cye's POV)

The lot of us started to look for Kojiro. Yuli and Ariel were riding White Blaze. The guys were asking about what I'd been doing for the past four years. I told them everything. The story was in bits and pieces thanks to several attacks by Dynasty Tin Cans. Yuli stuck to defending Ariel, which I thanked him for. Yuli told me in response it was as a thank-you for protecting him when he was younger and the fact that if he didn't, who would protect her?

We made our way inside the palace, taking random turns every which way. Surprisingly there weren't a lot of attacks inside the castle. They happened, but not as much as we expected. Something wasn't right. So close to Talpa's stronghold, yet the reinforcements were so weak. But why? Why would the forces he so thin?

We'd eventually get out answer. And we wouldn't like it. Not one bit.

Eventually, we heard moans in the distance. Painful ones. We went to investigate the moans and came apon a creepy dark room. It was so dark I didn't see White Blaze slink up next to me. "Daddy, it's dark in here," whispered Ariel. "I'm scared."

"Ariel?" came a weak voice. "Is that, is that you?" Kojiro! That had to be Kojiro! But what was he doing here?

"Kojiro!?" I asked. "What are you doing in here?!" 

That was when I heard Kioko's laughter. The lights and on and we saw Kojiro tied to a strange looking star with seven points. He looked beaten up and weak, even in subarmor. Kioko stood next to him, a whip in hand. "I'm so glad you boys could make it. I found this one fighting lone wolf in hall. Not a smart move for a rookie, eh, Icefire?"

Kojiro tried to look defiant. "I hope you rot," he said. Kioko cracked the whip, and Kojiro cried out. I winced. Yuli was covering Ariel's eyes. 

"You don't need to see this," said Yuli to Ariel. She buried her head into his shoulder. Mia was horrified. I was in shock. Is THAT what it was like watching someone be tortured?! Now I knew how Ryo and Rowen felt when Kayura projected the rest of us. Kojiro continued to scream. None of us dared step further. Kioko could just as easily kill him. And that was the last thing we wanted to happen.

"Oh my God, that's inhuman," said Sage, looking at Kojiro. "Let him go!"

"No, I'm not done playing with him just yet," said Kioko. Suddenly, the star lit up and Kojiro screamed. They were electrocuting him. Just like they had with Kento, Sage, and me.

"Stop it!" yelled Ryo. 

Kioko obeyed, leaving Kojiro panting. "I'll let him go when I feel he's dead or close to it."

"No!" said Yuli. "I won't let you."

Anubis' eyes widened. "Yuli, what are you doing!?"

Yuli closed his eyes. "The only thing I CAN do to free Kojiro!"

"No! Don't do it! You know what the punishment is!" said Anubis. 

"I'm willing to risk that," said Yuli. His Chrono blade appeared before him. "TIME SLICING FREEZE!"

The next thing I knew Kioko was tied up in a corner, Kojiro and was free (and for that matter confused as to him he got there) and Yuli was no where to be seen. I ran over to Kojiro to try and make sure he was okay. He was more confused that anything, though.

"NOOOOOO!" said Anubis, falling to his knees in defeat. "I shouldn't have told him that much. Why did he do that!?"

"Told him what!?" asked Ryo. "Where's Yuli!?"

"He stopped time," said Anubis. "It was nothing to us, but he stopped time."

"Stopped time?" asked Kento "That's incredible!"

Anubis shook his head. "The Lord of the Chronos doesn't agree. The bearer of the Armor of the Chrono is not supposed to stop time. The punishment-"

"Punished!?" I asked. "What do you mean, punished?! He just saved a life!"

Anubis shook his head. "He played with time. The punishment is guarding the Chronos for the next decade."

"A DECADE!?" said Mia. "We won't see him in ten years! He'll be twenty-two by then!"

"No, no, not at all. He'll only age two years during that time," said Anubis. 

"Oh good Lord," said Mia. She fell to her knees and began to sob. Ariel looked hurt. She'd made a friend out of him. The others were speechless. 

"I don't believe he did that," said Kojiro, "and at that, for me. We were so mean to each other."

"I know, but, he probably wanted to make it up to you," I said. 

"Now I get a guilty conscience for the next ten years," joked Kojiro. 

"Be serious," I said, helping him to his feet. Kojiro weakly got to his feet. The other Ronins walked over. Sage stepped forward. 

"Here, let's see what I can do about healing you," he said. Sage placed his hands on Sage's forehead and concentrated. Kojiro was soon standing on his own power. "Hi, I'm Sage Date, or, Sage of the Halo."

"Rowen Hashiba or Rowen of the Strata," said Rowen, extending his hand. 

"Ryo of the Wildfire, and to others, Ryo Sanada."

"Kento Rei Fuang or Kento of the Hardrock."

"Kojiro of the Icefire or Kojiro Tomae," said Kojiro. "Nice to meet you guys. Cye bust you guys out?"

"Actually, we busted ourselves out and rescued him from a vat of boiling acid," said Ryo with a laugh. 

"Really, a vat of boiling acid? Can't they do something original!?" said Kojiro. 

"Virtue of creativity," I said, rolling my eyes. "Like what, Kojiro?"

"I'd rather not say, because I might give them ideas," he said. "Now, we're down a Ronin, so can we still beat Talpa?"

"I'd imagine so. We'll have the Inferno plus one," said Anubis. 

"Inferno?" asked Kojiro.

"When Rowen, Kento, Cye, and Sage give Ryo their powers, he transforms into the legendary White Armor of Inferno. It's said to be so powerful in the right hands that it can destroy entire worlds," said Mia. 

"Wow," said Kojiro. 

"Is it bad?" asked Ariel. 

"No armor is good or bad," said Anubis. "It depends on the person who wears it and how it was presented to them. I used to have an armor, but since it was presented to me as a way to power and never dying, I was bad, but your father and the other Ronins had their armors presented as a way to defend the Mortal World. I eventually saw that myself," said Anubis. 

"So since Ryo's good, then the Inferno's good?" said Ariel. Anubis nodded. "So I shouldn't be afraid?"

"It's very powerful, but the Jewel of Life will protect you," he said. Ariel fingered the beet shaped amulet and looked at me. 

"Is everything gonna be okay?" she asked. 

I didn't know what to tell her. "We can only hope for the best," I said. "We can only hope for the best."


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four: Confrontation

Anubis, Mia, and Ariel left us soon after we lost Yuli and rescued Kojiro. "Kojiro, think you're ready for Talpa himself?" asked Rowen.

"I can handle him!" said Kojiro. "So, this Inferno thing, its gonna be me and my armor and Ryo in the Inferno verses Talpa, right?"  
"Plus the Staff," said Anubis. "It's more powerful than it looks."

"Well duh," said Kojiro. "Is Icefire strong enough?"

"Hopefully it will be," said Anubis. "And it will mostly be the Inferno anyways."

"Ah, I see," said Kojiro, smiling to himself. He looked at me. "Do YOU want to do this?"

"Huh?" I asked, blinking in curiosity. 

"If you get yourself killed, Ariel doesn't have a father anymore. Are you willing to do this?" asked Kojiro. 

"We won't let him get killed. Only because of Ariel do I want at least Cye to walk out of this. Under any other circumstances we'd all risk our lives, but if things get back, I give you permission with understanding to back out," said Ryo.

"I'm not going to back out. I'd rather be killed them let Ariel live the rest of her life knowing that her father chickened out of a fight that could have killed his friends," I said.

"Wow, bold words, dude, but you DO have to understand that things are different," said Kento. "I'll try and take some hits for ya."

"And if you do and you live you'll never taste my cooking again," I said sternly. 

"Hey, it's been a torturous four YEARS without your cooking and you're threatening to make that PERMANENT!? The horror, the horror!" Kento said, of course he was being melodramatic. I laughed.

"Thank you for the offer, though," I said.

"No sweat, dude," said Kento with a sly grin on his face. "Are you planning on coming home after this?"  
"I'm not sure," I said. 

"Because you know that Mia will probably be more than happy to let you, Ariel, and Kojiro stay with us, you know," said Kento. 

"They live together?" asked Kojiro. 

"Rent's dirt cheap and you get the meals for free," said Rowen. 

"I'm in," said Kojiro. "But, only if Cye goes."

"I'll think about it, Kojiro. I'm still used to living on my own with Ariel and-" I started. 

"We're almost outside. Once we get out there I won't be surprised if we find Talpa," said Ryo. The rest of us nodded. "Anubis, please tell us you wont' try that whole suicide thing again."

"No, I won't," said Anubis. "The Staff knows Kayura pretty well, so it'll free her with only half as much power. It won't be nearly enough to kill me again."

"AGAIN!?"

"I'll explain it later, Kojiro."

Ryo was right. Talpa WAS just about waiting for us. "Well, well, well, Ronin Warriors. I see you've finally decided to show up," said Talpa. He was just as ugly as I remembered him. 

"Okay, how is this gonna work?" asked Kojiro. 

"Ronin Warriors, to ARMS! Armor of the Wildfire, DAO JIN!"

"Armor of the Halo, DAO CHI!"  
"Armor of the Torrent, DAO SHIN!"  
"Armor of the Hardrock, DAO GI!"  
"Armor of the Strata, DAO INOCHI!"  
"Armor of the Icefire, DAO KINOSEI!"

Once again we stood in our armors. White Blaze was hit by lightening and was transformed into Black Blaze. Anubis just twirled the Staff around and was in a greenish armor with a sword that had a hilt with the six rings of the Staff. 

Kojiro looked around. "Cool armors," he said. "Hiya Talpa! I see you didn't like my make-over."

We all turned to stare at Kojiro. "Make-over?!" I asked. "We were worried sick about you and you gave Talpa a MAKE-OVER!?"  
"Fuschia is his color," said Kojiro, grinning like a mad-man as he took a practice swing with his battle ax. 

"I don't want to know," said Rowen, shaking his head. 

"Fuschia?" asked Kento. 

"That little brat dyed my fuschia!" said Talpa. 

We all thought about this, then, even Anubis, cracked up. Kojiro grinned to himself. 

"IT WAS NOT FUNNY!" screamed Talpa.

"Yes it was!" said Kojiro. Talpa got mad and took a swing at him. "WAHHH!! YOU COULD POKE SOMEBODY'S EYE OUT WITH THAT THING!"

"I know," said Talpa. "Now let me finish you off NOW!"  
"Guys, donate your powers, NOW!" called Rowen. A bright blue bubble surrounded him and he went to Ryo. Sage and Kento followed suit. 

Why couldn't I!?

"Anubis, this isn't working! I can't donate Ryo my power!" I said. 

"What!?" asked Anubis. 

"What do you- AH!" screamed Kojiro, and before I knew it, a deep purple bubble joined my friends. I watched as Ryo formed the Inferno. Without me. He drew the Soul Swords of Fervor from Black Blaze and stood poised for battle. I took my yari and prepared to defend myself. 

"Things are NOT going my way," I said to myself. 

"Try to relax and go with the flow," said Anubis. He held the sword at the ready. The two of us stood back as Ryo and Talpa had their bought. Anubis and I were awestruck, just watching the battle from afar.

That was when the terrible thing hit.

"STAR SWORDS SCREAM!"

"BLACK LIGHTENING SLASH!"

"WEB OF DECEPTION!"

"VINE WHIP EVOLUTION!"

"QUAKE WITH FEAR!!!"  
"NETHER SPIRITS, ATTACK!!!!!"  
"RYO! RUN!" I screamed. Ryo looked over his shoulder in time to see what had to be thousands- no, MILLIONS- of Nether Spirits flying towards him as well as the living Warlords, one of whom was presumably this mysterious Osiris. They were all led by Lord Badamon. Ryo screamed. In a second, so it seemed, my friends had separated and were held in ball of Nether Energy. All of them looked weak and hurt. 

Talpa laughed. "Well, well, well, Anubis, Cye of the Torrent, what do you think of my victory?"

"You haven't won yet!" 

We looked up. Yuli! "Yuli!" I cried. "You're all right!"  
"I only have a few minutes to render him helpless, then YOU'VE got to put him in his place!"

"Me!?" I asked. 

"You have the power in you. Your armor is going to a whole new level! Don't attack until I leave! Anubis, go protect Ariel and Mia! SILENCE TIME SLICE!" Yuli cried, slicing at Talpa. Talpa cried and out tried to swat at Yuli, who literally flying around him like some sort of a demented firefly. Well, a firefly that was trying to kill you, but Talpa was sure having trouble hitting him.

Anubis blinked. He went back into the Ancient's robes. "I'm going to go protect Mia and your daughter now," he said. "CALE! DON'T YOU DARE GO OVER THERE! YOU TOO, DAIS!"

All I could do was sit and watch.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Fall of Talpa

(Note: Later in the chapter a revelation will be made. This is revelation has NOTHING to do with any information I've read. I just thought it would be an interesting idea. You'll see what I mean when you read it.)

I watched in shock and horror as Yuli began to literally beat Talpa. The once enormous giant was now my size. Yuli then landed on the ground and a golden portal opened behind him. "Good luck, Cye!" he said, then he backflipped into the portal. It closed up.

Talpa turned his attention to me. "So, you wish to challenge me, Cye of the Torrent?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Give me your best shot," I said coldly. Talpa raised his sword, gave a battle cry, and charged at me. I instinctively side stepped and his sword was stuck in the wall behind me. I didn't hesitate to grip his helmet and unmask him. I tossed the helmet backwards. Talpa stopped short and slowly turned around. 

I screamed. 

Talpa's face was a yellowing skull with white wisps of hair still stuck to his cranium. Two blue eyeballs lay rotting in his eye sockets. Blood dripped from his mouth. His voice, instead of echoing and booming, was raspy and creepy. "So now you know what I look like, Torrent."

"You weren't always a demon," I concluded, stepping backwards away from him. 

"Yes. I used to be known as Kamen. I had a twin brother named Kaoso. I hated him. Mother always liked him best. We were born into a clan of power. He was headed for greatness, but I didn't have that power. I wanted the world. I wanted the universe! I used my powers and tried to kill him. For that I was banished at eighteen, but not before I deflowered his fiancé. It didn't take me long to hear his new title. Do you know what that new title was!?"

"N, no," I said, using my yari to keep him as far away from me as possible.

"The Ancient Once."

I nearly dropped my yari. "What?"

"The Ancient One was my brother. I was furious! My hatred blossomed, and I sacrificed my soul to Nether Realm. Badamon's father, to be exact. My body began to rot, so I was given this armor. He renamed me Talpa. It gave me great power. I killed Badamon's father and took over the Nether Realm. Then I began to plot against the Mortal World. But my brother stopped me, stole my armor, and split into Nine Mystical Armors. You know this. You know this very well. Before I attacked I learned the witch had born a child. I naturally brought him here to be built into a superior heir if something were able to dispose of me. I killed her afterwards."

"You're sick!" I said. 

"I know a lot more about your past than you think, Torrent. I know that the man who you thought was your father didn't father you," said Talpa.

This time I DID drop my yari. "Excuse me!?"

I didn't get a chance to recover it before he had me up against a wall. The stench of death was heavy on his breath. "Anubis went out into the Mortal World for one of your months. He went to a country called England that I'm sure you're familiar with."

"I was born there," I said, trying not to gag from him the stench. 

"He met a widow at a bar. The former Mrs. Anthony Mouri, your mother. Her name was Erica, wasn't it? Your mother. He'd been dead for three months. They talked, had a few beers, and before anyone knew it, you were conceived," said Talpa. "I monitored his activities and I saw that. I monitored all my Dark Warlord's activities. I followed your activities and was furious when you were born a Ronin. He still doesn't realize it, either."

I stopped breathing, and I'm pretty sure my heartbeat stopped for a second, too. Anubis was my FATHER!? But now it all made sense. When I was younger my mother seemed to be almost lying to me about Anthony Mouri being my father. And she never let me visit his grave. Sae treated me like I was hardly her brother. I never actually saw my father's date of death. It all made sense. My mother had been hiding my identity from me my entire life. I was angry, shocked, confused, and several other emotions all at once. I think this was the one time in my life that my emotions were stronger then the night I fled to Tokyo with the infant Ariel.

I straightened. Talpa laughed. "You have no chance."

I held my hand out and concentrated on my yari. I could feel it shaking on the ground. Talpa turned his head as the yari flew into my hands. I started forcing HIM backwards. He looked afraid. "You give me no choice. SUPAH WAVE SMASHER!" The now weak Talpa flew into the opposite wall and screamed in pain, but it didn't have much affect. I needed a stronger attack! But my friends were still trapped. 

Then, it hit me. A power inside of me. I held my yari infront of me and focused all of my powers on tip of the middle blade of the weapon. I found myself back in subarmor. "ARMOR OF THE TORRENT, RHAPSODY OF THE TORRENT!!!!"

Then, I blacked out.

"Daddy! Wake up!"

"Cye, get up!"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Don't you dare leave us!"

I opened my eyes. "What. . . what happened?"  
"Daddy!" Ariel jumped on my chest. She felt heavier on my chest. I was back in my civvies. I sat up and hugged Ariel. 

"Once your gave Talpa that hit, the Nether Spirits dispelled and we were able to form the Inferno again," said Rowen. "It didn't take that much to get rid of him, though. What happened back there?"

I looked around. Mia, Ariel, the other Ronins, and Anubis stood around me. I was in my room in my apartment, lying on the couch. I told them everything, leaving out the part about Anubis being my father. The others were reasonably surprised at some of the information, especially about Talpa and the Ancient being from the same parents. Twins, at that. Then, I looked up at Anubis. "Um, Anubis? Can, can we have a word alone?"  
"Of course," said Anubis. The others left, Kojiro explaining they'd go to his apartment. Anubis sat next to me on the couch. "What do you wish to talk about?"  
"Do, do you remember having relations with a woman named Erica?" I asked. 

Anubis' eyes got wide. "Erica in England?" I nodded. "That was a one night stand! How could you know about that!?"  
"Talpa told me about it," I said. "She's my mother."

Anubis must have gone white as a ghost. "Are you saying that you're my son?"

"From what Talpa said, then, yes," I said, tears flowing from my eyes. Anubis' eyes began to well up as well and the two of us began to cry. 

"I can't believe this," he kept repeating.

"Neither can I," I said. "Neither can I."

"I'm so sorry for not being there, I'm so sorry for not being there when you needed me the most," he said. 

"It's okay, I forgive you," I said. 

My father looked into my eyes. Then, he cocked an eyebrow. "This means I'm a grandfather, too. Thanks a lot, now I feel REALLY old."

"But you ARE really old," I said. 

"Do you want to be grounded, young man?" he said jokingly. Then, he turned to me. "Does your mother know about Ariel yet?"

"Uh, no," I said. "I was too frightened to call her."

"Call her. She deserves to know," he said.

"I will, Dad."

He smiled. "It feels good to hear you say that." 


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue

Several weeks had passed since the whole ordeal with Talpa endured. It took some time, but now I call Anubis, well, and Ariel's been calling him Pops. The others were BALLISTAC over that, but they understood why I wanted that to be in private. It was kind of personal, after all.

Kojiro, Ariel and I DID end up moving to Mia's. Ariel has Yuli's old room, and after some rearranging, I'm now sharing with Kento and Kojiro. Even Dad moved in with everyone. Ariel's now in a better day care, Kojiro and I are going to a better college, and now I can focus my income on less things. I don't have to worry about bills, food, and other things as much. My income goes mainly towards whenever Ariel or I get sick, clothing, shoes, and other things I couldn't supply for her back in Tokyo.

Ariel seems to be a happy kid. Mia mothers her, and she calls her (this is funny) "Mama Mia". Dad adores spoiling her rotten, but I get mad at him whenever he tries to. Kento and the others try to as well. She absolutely LOVES White Blaze. He usually sleeps in her room. 

I was glad to know that Kento and Sage had packed all my old things in boxes. I went through them and found old journals, my stuffed whale, cookbooks, regular books, and other interesting things. Kento, Kojiro, and Sage helped me with it. We had a few good laughs.

I eventually DID call my mother. First, she scolded me for not calling in well over four years. I told her about the rape and she nearly had a heart attack. She was hysterical. I gave her my word it was the truth after she asked if it was an excuse. Then I told her about Ariel. She wanted us to come out to England as soon as we could. We were out there three weeks later and stayed four days. Somehow I was able to avoid telling her about Dad. She would have been furious. Sae seemed to love Ariel to death, going around yelling that she was "Auntie Sae". I also got to say hi to some of my old friends. They gave me the natural greetings and were in shock over Ariel, but they thought she was cute.

Ariel liked England. Especially "the big red busses".

It had been a week since we'd gotten back from England. It was a typical morning. Kojiro was up painting in the basement like he usually did (Kojiro's an artist in his spare time), Kento was still asleep, and I was downstairs making breakfast. Mia walked into the kitchen. "Good morning," I said. 

"Morning," she said. "Cye?"

"Hmm?" I asked as I played with the omelets currently in the skillet.

"Have you thought about. . . dating again?" asked Mia. "I mean, Ariel needs a mother figure, and I don't think I'm good enough of a mother figure."

I closed my eyes. "Dating was hard after Ariel was born. The only girl I really talked to were the other teen parents and any form of relationship was out of the question. It would be too much of a hassle," I said. 

"Well, you know, you should look into playing the field a little bit," said Mia. "You guys should settle down as much as you can before the next battle."

"The next battle?" I asked. 

"The Warlords and that heir are still out there," said Mia. "You have to be prepared for anything."

"I know," I said. "We all know. The question is, when?"


End file.
